The exhibition Half-Love is centered on a series of photographs depicting the artist Diana Tamane’s younger half-sister Elina. The first photo was taken more than 10 years ago. Diana’s photos capture Elina growing up and the meetings of the two sisters every summer in the Latvian seaside summerhouse region Kursīši.
The continuity of the photos provides insight into the sisters’ personal relationship and the development of their creative collaboration. According to Diana, she “wanted to recall the simple joys available to us, such as the feeling of the sun on our skin, the taste of still warm tomatoes from the greenhouse, the softness of the grass underfoot, and the sound and smell of the sea.”
This year, the works were on display at the Latvian Photography Museum as part of the Riga Photography Biennial. For that exhibition, the artist is nominated for the prestigious Purvītis Prize. The series was first exhibited at the Tartu Art Museum in 2022 for which she received the Ado Vabbe art prize. The series keeps growing every summer: the exhibition at the Rüki Gallery includes the first showing of the photo taken in June 2023.
Diana’s view of her role as an older sister is revealed in her letter to Elina. The author says that it is written to her sister but also to herself: “It took me some years to learn but I want you to be your own best friend .…” Inspired by the letter, a set of postcards were created for the exhibition in collaboration with the poet and bibliotherapist Berit Kaschan. We invite you to take a moment and write a few lines to a loved one!
Audience programme:
4 August, 1–4 PM creative writing workshop (registration required, working language Estonian), run by Berit Kaschan
9 September, 2 PM exhibition tour with the artist and curator
Participation is free of charge.
Diana Tamane (Latvia/Estonia, 1986) was born in Riga, but lives and works in Tartu. Her primary medium of expression is photography, but she also uses video, text, drawings and found objects in her work. Tamane graduated with a degree in photography from the Tartu Art College (BA) and the LUCA School of Art in Brussels (MA). She has been an artist-in-residence at HISK in Ghent. The artist’s works are part of the collections of the Tartu Art Museum, the Latvian National Museum of Art and the Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland).
Curator: Hanna-Liis Kont
Graphic Design: Janno Saft
Team: Richard Adang, Triinu Jürmann, Berit Kaschan, Siim Lillo, Jane Meresmaa-Roos, Anti Saar and Peeter Talvistu
Supporters: the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 project Creative Connections, the Riga Photography Biennial, and the Viljandi Town Council
The exhibition will remain open until 9 September.
