PAINTINGS
AROUND MY BLUE MOUNTAIN
Blue Sky Blue Infinity Blue Depths
Blue Earth Blue Flowers Blue Hopes
Blue Sorrows Blue Flames Blue Anger
Beneath the Blue Bowl of Heaven
For us to live, we must be like a mountain. We must stand high above the depths, high above the flames. We must rise above anger and sorrow. Close to the joy of the heavens.
Mountains are mysterious places. Their peaks are often wrapped in clouds and lie far from the foothills of everyday life. There, the sky meets the earth. Gods dwell in the mountains. Witches gather there. In the caves of the mountains live dragons, demons, trolls, and dwarfs. On mountain peaks, castles rise and sink. On the Glass Mountain, a princess waits for her savior. The mountains of the Earth are embraced by the blue bowl of the sky. The moon circles the Earth. It is said that from the moon, the Earth looks blue. Blue is the color of our home! Our world is blue!
“Around the mountain, I grow the flowers of endless blue hope. Hope is the manifestation of happiness. Hope, and it will be given to you! And give – for what is gained by giving cannot be taken away. My paintings are blue like blue spells. With my paintings, I want to conjure happiness for us. To cast away pain and evil. We are in blue infinity. And we shall be infinite!”
THE GARDEN OF THE BLUE FLOWER
The color blue has always been a symbol of the sky. But then man learned to reach the sky, and it turned out that the planet Earth is blue when viewed from high up in the sky. Blue is the color of home; it represents a sense of belonging. Blue flowers are the rarest in nature; they have become symbols of longing and hope, representing a metaphysical pursuit of the infinite and the unattainable. The garden is a symbol of paradise. It is a special place of happiness and joy (or perhaps a condition?) that we each seek in this world and hope to reach when our earthly tenure is over.
With the series of paintings titled "The Garden of the Blue Flower," the artist asks herself and the audience: Do the preconditions for achieving happiness include discovering, comprehending, and embracing one's sense of belonging and identity? Is happiness reconciliation with the past? Does happiness need a place, and what does that place consist of? Is the search for happiness and paradise an endless process?
The series of paintings "The Garden of the Blue Flower" is a story about belonging and roots. In it, the artist depicts fixations of past experiences, feelings, and emotions in the language of symbols, outlining the landscape of her happy place. And no, not only roses bloom there; there is joy, love, fear, anger, despair, but above all - acceptance and forgiveness.
For the artist, painting is a search for belonging to the world. We are all looking for our happy place, and "The Garden of the Blue Flower" is a wish for all of us to find it!
THE GLOWING DEEP
Light allows us to see. It is able to break through the surface of the darkest water, creating a flickering play of light and shadow in the depths of the water. How wonderful it is to dive into this radiant abyss. Open your eyes, and feel the beauty that lies beneath the water's surface!
GRASSHOPPER ON THE NOSE
The series of paintings "GRASSHOPPER ON THE NOSE" is dedicated to childhood. Painted with childhood memories and feelings in mind - about a dog that enjoyed pea pods, about snails in the currant bushes, about frog hunts, grasshoppers on the nose and butterfly-orchids at night.
THE GARDEN SUPPLIES
The graduation work „Garden Supplies” (“Dārza apgāds”) is a depiction of the correlation of the intended, the objective reality and the creation of myth. It is the contemporary post-truth and alternative fact era`s story of how it is possible to avoid the responsibility over the reality with creation of a system of superstition and myth. The narrative is constructed of metaphorical characters and is readable by translating the symbolic meanings of the characters and their playful mutual combinations and rhythms. The main source of inspiration is a subjective structure of a certain agrochemist’s world view, which is so self-sufficient that there is no space left for an objective explanation of causality. The agrochemist is a real living person. “Garden Supplies” was a real family business in the mid 90ties ran by agrochemist.
THE STORY
Once upon a not-very-long time ago, an agrochemist with a brilliant, eager mind and an otherwise great potential had an idea to become his country’s greatest seed merchant. He dreamed of great cabbage*, beautiful gardens and happy, rich people in the gardens.
The agrochemist began to fulfill his dream with tremendous enthusiasm. A company with limited liability and a poetic name Garden Supplies (DĀRZA APGĀDS) ** was founded.
To himself and to the world, the agrochemist promised eternal love, prosperity and at least one white Mercedes-Benz limousine to anyone who he happened to meet on his way. His eloquence and persuasiveness was unmatched. The world believed in him, looked at him with eyes full of delight, listened to him with open mouths; the cabbage rolled to the right and to the left, and the land flourished. A neighboring gypsy, out of respect to the agrochemist, sold him his last horse for just a few coins. Although some say that the horse would have been under a spell of black magic.
Who knows what happened to the gypsy’s horse, but black cats started crossing the agrochemist`s path. At first, he knocked three times on a tree, spat over the left shoulder, held the button of his trousers*** and marched forward, head held high. But quite soon he had to take up the heavy weaponry. He hit the black ghosts at first with headed cabbages, then with Savoy cabbages and at last even with Brussels sprouts.
No luck. The black cats, little buggers, haven’t retreated to this day. But the agrochemist doesn’t give up, either. He keeps throwing those cabbages at his ghosts over and over again, so that the earth trembles. Apparently, the key is to get rid of the she-cats. But if the situation gets out of control, Dalmatian chrysanthemum and marsh tea extracts, and a good deal of turpentine might help.
* Cabbage is a metaphor for money in various languages. In the work a symbol for ideas that theoretically should bring about happiness and prosperity.
** The agrochemist is a real living person. Garden Supplies was a real family business in the mid 90ties ran by agrochemist.
*** Superstitious actions that should be undertaken when encountering black cats to avoid ill luck. In the work black cat is a symbol of malignant forces that are at fault for failures.
THE CABBAGE
The series of paintings 'THE CABBAGE' is dedicated to the prevailing socio-political and economic hardship within society. When society is dissatisfied, oppressed, and angry, it seeks a culprit. There are many culprits, but cabbage is certainly guilty. Cabbage paintings can be used as talismans.
FROM HOME TO HOME?
The series of paintings 'FROM HOME TO HOME' was created in Germany during the 2015 migration crisis as a reaction to it. The question occupied my mind - will all these people fleeing from their countries (homes) ever find their homes?
ANIMALS AND CASTLES
The series of paintings 'Animals and Castles' is a dedication to immense ambitions. A small being - great expectations.
24 FRAMES OF HOME
The series of paintings "24 Moments of Home" was created as a response, or rather a counter-reaction, to the series on paintings "24 Frames of Faraway." It illustrates my feelings upon returning home after a prolonged absence.
24 FRAMES OF FARAWAY
The series of paintings '24 FRAMES OF FARAWAY' depicts my experiences and feelings while being far away from home. It is a story of impressions and emotions, encountered peculiarities and strange incidents in a foreign place.
