Beatrise Grudule ^{Emerging artist}

Artist's country of origin: Latvia

Studied multimedia arts in Jana Rozentals Art school and continuing studies in Art Academy of Latvia Visual Communication and graduating in Ceramics department. Coming from media background I am exploring different digital and physical ways of encountering life. “Contemporary is specific self relationship to own time, attaching to it at the same time distancing from it; even precisely, contemporary is that kind of relationship which connects in detachment and anachronism.” (G.Agamben,2020) As an artist I use the way of contemporary to look at world that I am living in. This state allows me to define my interests in the world and my artistic practise. Photography was one of the first tools that led me start to think about space around. The flatness and framed space intrigue me. Fragmented, multiplied versions of reality were appealing and I was fascinate how I and others can manipulate with that. By practising photography I came to conclusion that the only think that I really what to capture is medium itself. That was a starting point for video work “Encounter” (2020) as a way of looking of photography in chemical, subjective and material level. In that work I explored photography, image use and found the relationship within mediums as video is made out of multiple frames – images. As I worked with relationships within mediums I started to think about flatness and form as 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional world interaction. I used flatness to visualise space within the space I am interacting with. As a result I created video work “Little Luna?”. Video work was created and exhibited in abundant cafeteria as a part of group exhibition. By filming and then distorting fragment of fragment of space – electric cable – and projecting video in that same place was a literal adaptation to the space. It was a interpretation of spirited part of space, lost but present part of it and it wouldn’t work in any another place. Exploring unseen space was a generator for not only being interacted with it but led me think of ways to actually create it. Collaborating with Latvian Centre Of Contemporary Art I made a work “Something Similar Has Shown in My Childhood Marketplace” (2021). Installation that represented two types of environments and exhibit them in windowsills of two bars. I call them environments because each element is interacting with each other to create feel of life and nature within. Creating the environments I discovered beauty of materiality. I use materials like epoxy, sugar and paper and found materials. For instance, by melting sugar I created types of corrals, and with shattered paper I created crumbs of soil. What and how specific material can create curtain object or condition? How can that help me to create actual environment? These are still the questions that I return to and integrate in my practise. This work was important to me because it arouse for myself questions and challenges of space and life. What I am indirectly leaning towards to in my works is the knowledge of characteristics of mediums and life interactions . What is life and what it is depending on? I think I always have been curious to know.