Elina Semane ^{Emerging artist}

Artist's country of origin: Latvia

I am an artist born in 1991. In my works I use provocation and transgression as a tool to talk about uncomfortable topics in society, very oftern – confronting social norms. I have just graduated from masters programme in the Art Academy of Latvia. In my art practice I use mixed media – performance, installation, photography, sculpture ect. Several works have made a big resonance in society. In 2019 In collaboration with artists Ance Vilnite and Lee Chapman we made a kissing performance/happening in the exhibition hall Arsenals, during the big Academy’s 100th anniversary student show. We were laying on the ground and kissing while Chapman was playing dada music. The video of performance went viral on social media – it had over 1 million views. It really shaked the entire country and the society and made people question and discuss contemporary art. One of my most noticable personal works is a triptyh that I made in 2020 – called „Everything is shit except the piss” – including two performances in different cemeteries in Riga and also a personal exhibition in a cemetery. Because of covid I used the public space for exhibiting my works. This also made a big resonance. My photos have been published in books „Latvian photography 2020” and a book about the young generation in Latvia called „Did You Notice Me” in 2021. This year I was a curator of the international art festival Riga Photomonth where I was also participating as an artist with my diploma exhibition „Mic Drop” that took place in the gallery „Masa”. The exhibition was a candidate for nomination for the most prestigious latvian art prize „Purvisa balva”. Phiosopher Igors Gubenko who was one of the jury members wrote about my show: „ Exhibition is a shining example of exhistential reflection, using wide refrences of contemporary art and alternative culture, showing an artisticaly convincing authobiographical message with charateristics of the manifistation of a generation.” The inspiration for my exhibition „Mic Drop” came from an idea based on F. Nietzsche’s critical position in distinguishing between good and evil, thus calling for reassessment of the generally accepted notions of values and moral norms.