Portraits LR

The exhibition Portraits RL consists of portraits commissioned for the magazine Rīgas Laiks and photographed by Ansis Starks (1980). Over the past few years, while documenting contemporary artists, scientists, thinkers and patrons, Ansis Starks has amassed an impressive collection of portraits. The photographer admits that deep down he is drawn towards textures, space, spatiality and light, all of which influence his approach to photographing people: he perceives each person as a figure situated in space, light and shadow. The exhibition catalogue contrasts Starks’ portraits with those created in Latvia during the late 20th century, hence the second title Portraits Latvian SSR. This exhibition presents Ansis Starks’ approach to the language of contemporary photography and interprets it in comparison to the characteristics of photography during the Soviet period. The exhibition Portraits RL aims to introduce to the wider public the work of this Latvian photographer, whose approach reflects the new way of documenting. Traditional reportage and psychological portraits – two genres without which the 20th century would have been unimaginable – are currently starting to lose their strongholds. It is happening mainly because the ‘current’ reportage and psychological approaches create an interpretation of reality that is too demanding, dominated by a narrative created by the photographer or the engagement of editors. As Roland Barthes noted, this insistence induces a desire for distance.

Curator: Inga Šteimane

Organizer: Art Station Dubulti in cooperation with Riga Photography Biennial

Image: Ansis Starks, Mikhail Baryshnikov, 2015