"Gauja’s Manuport No. 2" Artūrs Punte

Artūrs Punte's installation is based on the ancient notion of art as a reproduction of nature. It offers a unique opportunity to experience the interplay of sounds and energy in the landscape, acquired during the plein-air sessions at the Strenči Sonification Station in the summer of 2024.

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The plein-air experiments involved the use of "free energy" to create sound, using both innovative methods (150 m long antenna for collecting radio wave energy, metal rods for soil potential difference) and traditional renewable resources (river current, wind, sun). Extended field recordings were also made, combining the acoustic atmosphere and the inaudible electrical oscillations caused by natural processes.

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In the gallery, these recordings are transformed into a "landscape scale model", an installation that reflects the plein air environment in miniature. An artificial river, wind and changing lighting, guided by environmental data, create a lively, dynamically changing space. Synthesised interpretations of the soundscape and data stream complement the visual effects - reflections on the gallery walls and ceiling. For comparison, a video recording is available to visitors, allowing them to observe how changes in reality have affected the installation.

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The title of the work refers to the concept of archaeology and anthropology, which refers to finds that have been displaced - manually moved from elsewhere - and are not specific to the excavation site. Most often, it is a beautiful shell or stone that an ancient person found attractive and interesting enough to take with them and carry far away from the seashore - to their place of residence. The author of this work works in a similar way - he manually "relocates" a whole corner of nature in the city gallery. This installation is the second in the "manport" series. The first one was created while the author was travelling downstream with the Gauja rafters in 2023, and was exhibited in Strenči in the same year.

Curated by Raitis Šmits.

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About the gallery

RIXC is the center for new media culture, an art gallery, and an artist collective that initiates projects at the intersection of art, science, and emerging technologies. RIXC's activities include artist-in-residency programs, media art exhibitions, innovative art-science projects, and the annual RIXC Art Science Festival. RIXC organizes annual conferences and curates international exhibitions, with proceedings and reviews published in the Acoustic Space publication series. Notable editions include Beyond the Hybrid (2024), Green Revisited (2020), Virtualities and Realities (2019), Renewable Futures (2015), Data Drift (2015), and Techno-Ecologies (2011).