"Garden state" by "Latvania"

Exhibition “Garden state” marks Latvānija’s first large-scale appearance, bringing together the collective’s creative explorations and experiences of recent years. Since 2020, artists Ieva Filatova, Marta Kalniņa, Anna Malicka, Karlīna Marta Zvirbule, Elīna Mekša, and their collaborators have explored the boundaries of everyday life, highlighting its surreal and absurd layers. Video, performance, and spatial installations become environments where the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary, and reality shifts into a dreamlike, often ironic experience. Within the world of Latvānija, each artist identifies as a gnome—a figure that is both playful and conceptually layered. The gnome functions as a mediator between reality and fiction, periphery and center, allowing for fluid movement between documentary and imagined space. This approach extends to the collective’s interdisciplinary practice, where events frequently overlap—exhibitions merge with parties, trips, and performative situations in which audiovisual works and “gnome artifacts” are created. Materiality and craftsmanship also play a crucial role in Latvānija’s practice. Sewing, fashion, ceramics, woodworking, and other forms of handwork become integral modes of expression, where traditional skills are reinterpreted through the lens of the contemporary gnome. The artists combine audiovisual content with sculptural objects and installations, creating environments where the physical and digital merge into a unified experience. The video work created in the art space PILOT serves as the foundation for the upcoming “Gnome Series,” while also marking a new stage in Latvānija’s development. The exhibition acts as a point within an ongoing process—a space for experimentation, materialization of ideas, and an invitation for the viewer to embrace the gnome within themselves.

Artists: Artist union "Latvania''

Ieva Filatova

Marta Kalniņa

Anna Malicka

Elīna Mekša

Karlīna Marta Zvirbule

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About gallery

PILOT is the Experimental Art Space of the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), established in 2020 and located in Riga’s Old Town at 3 R. Wagner Street. It provides a platform for new ideas, processes, and artistic research. The space is closely connected to AAL’s academic study process, functioning as a site for exhibitions, experimentation, and collaborative projects. PILOT’s programme includes exhibitions by students and recent graduates, open calls, collaborative projects, guest lectures, and interdisciplinary events. PILOT fosters the professional development of emerging artists by offering opportunities to gain practical experience in exhibition-making and to engage with the contemporary art field.