Rūta Kalmuka:  Saiknes / Interconnections


Opening: 14.03. 2024

Exhibition dates: 15.03 - 09.05.2024

Curators:  Iveta Gabaliņa 

Special thanks to Aivars Purmalis and FineArtPrint, Liāna Ivete Žilde, Sandis Plečs, Aldis Bušs, Sergejs Timofejevs, Una Grants

The exhibition is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, the Society Integration Foundation, and SIA Groglass.

The Interconnections series portrays Rūta Kalmuka's family members and her home by the river, searching for connections between nature, people and the events that surround them. Large-format black-and-white photographs, taken over more than a decade, reflect on the inevitable connection between a woman and her professional vocation – in this case, photography. The woman's role in the family must meld with the mother's creative interests and ambitions, as she appears to merely observe and document the everyday. As a result, a new identity emerges – that of the "mother-artist", serving as a reminder of the importance of not forgetting, understanding and reclaiming ourselves in the rush and challenges of everyday life.

Rūta Kalmuka (1974) began studying photography in 1992 at the Annas 2 Centre for Creative Learning with Andrejs Grants, who gave her a deep understanding of visual language, looking and seeing, aesthetics and ethics. She has worked in photojournalism for almost 20 years collaborating with print media such as "Santa", "Dienas žurnāli", "NRA", "Ir" magazine, etc. Currently, Rūta works with analogue photography and large format techniques and is interested in historical photographic processes and photobooks.