The story is about not seeing the big picture.
About getting lost in trivialities.
Sacrifices of the little man in the battle for survival.
Following sham promises of bright utopian future most people are ready to fight for survival for years and years.
They are ready to suffer drab hours of traffic every day, spend a lot on fuel and only reach the village of their dream after nightfall. They spend incalculable time on the road and get up before morning regularly, even forgetting about healthy sex.
They are ready to pay lifelong mortgages to spend their lives in tastelessly coloured boxes. These strange people are ready for serious battles with allergies, brought by synthetic floors and plastic windows. They are ready to raise children in a degraded environment with no normal streets or infrastructure.
Ruins are our national symbol.
Ruins from the beginning of the nineties and ruins from our time. These unbuilt objects decay incredibly quickly. Trees and grass elegantly devour them within half a year. Unemployed looters nibble away everything useful, they dig out cables and dismantle constructions.
Ruins are the business card of this system. When arriving at the capital of the country from the airport we see our national pride –ruins. Arriving by rail at the central station – ruins. Travelling around the country – ruins everywhere. Arriving in Liepāja or passing through Saldus – ruins.
Also when leaving the country, border control posts are in ruins.
Cacophony of plans.
These last few years I've had to listen to utopian fairy tales about the bright future of this degraded city. That Andrejsala will secure 80 000 inhabitants out of thin air, and then Lucavsala 40 000 more, and Mežaparks can easily house some 20 000. And, you see, in Copenhagen it's like this, and in Paris like that. If I tried arguing against it, I was quickly labeled a communist or a crazy artist. Today the grand plans have withered and most of the hustlers have made themselves scarce. But the openness of the society to these barking mad ideas and short-term manipulation without even a hint of long-term view is truly phenomenal.
Moment of glory for dilettante architects.
This is an incredibly cool place! You don't need serious credentials to build something, but you have serious clients, ready to pay! Professionalism has no significance whatsoever, what's important is political and PR manipulations to make your success keep you warm. Most of the objects are built according to the traditions of outdated technology and later cause a lot of inconvenience and expenses. Huge gas heating bills and overstrained air conditioning compensate for the surge of architect's and client's ambition.
Let's shoot ourselves in the leg!
A brief insight into urban planning.
Lots of things could be said on this subject, but it's easier just to give urban planners a piece of advice – shoot yourselves in the leg and you'll reach the same effect in a shorter time!
Small-minded matters, plucked out of global context, will not solve our issues.
This is a popular practice in the last few years.
A typical example:
By severely punishing all alcoholics and those urinating on the streets we shall solve all problems in this city. An officer for each piddler, hooray!!
Or we shall improve traffic by building one bridge!
But you have to look at the world as a whole, otherwise it's like buying a Stradivari violin for a miserably bad orchestra and hoping for heaps of success in Rome. Making small change of yourself and rummaging in trivialities to no end is the cornerstone of such a system. |
Long-term investment.
Acrylic on canvas. d: 100 cm, 2011
Dream house.
Acrylic on canvas. d: 80 cm, 2010
The city where wind is born.
Acrylic on canvas. d: 50 cm, 2011
Playground.
Acrylic on canvas. 100 x 140 cm, 2010
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