Female figures found in popular culture carry a series of associations with different eras and styles, as well as hints of historical context. However, the concept of this exhibition provides a different reference point; this time, the quest for identity is related to the urban environment - Riga.
The beauty ideals represented by various goddesses from different eras and cultures, such as Venus and Aphrodite, the Virgin Mary in Christianity, or specific personalities from both distant and recent past, like Madame de Pompadour, Amelia Earhart, Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, and even geisha Cho-Cho-San, have all appeared in the familiar environment of Riga.
The author of the exhibition concept, sculptor and associate professor of the Latvian Academy of Arts, Olga Šilova, explains that the main theme of the exhibition is Riga: “ Creating a falsified photo report on the visits of famous ladies to Latvia's capital, I aimed to achieve a fresh perspective on the city, causing the viewer to experience a shift in reality and see fragments of America, Japan, France, England, or India in Riga's streets and squares. The canonical phantoms of these women both suggest and puzzle, bringing forth themes of belonging and identity. It raises the question of what cultural testimonies and monuments our time will leave behind, and what echoes Riga will gain in the future.”
The author of the exhibition concept: Olga Šilova, www.olgasilova.lv
Photographer: Jānis Deinats
Graphic designer: Viesturs Stanislavskis
Women - beauty ideals from various eras and cultures / photo sessions in the urban environment of Riga.
- Amelia Earhart / Spilve Airport Square.
- Aphrodite / Jurmala Beach.
- Princess Diana / Freedom Monument.
- Parvati / Daugava Riverbank, National Library.
- Pamela Anderson / Hotel "Latvia".
- Madame de Pompadour / Cinema "Riga".
- Marilyn Monroe / Old Riga.
- Cho-Cho-San / Arkadia Park.
- Josephine Baker / AArt Deco-style kiosk at the intersection of Aspazijas Boulevard and Krišjāņa Barona Street..
- Virgin Mary / St. Francis Church.
