Diāna Tamane’s work Half-Love follows her half-sister Elīna, her father's daughter from his second marriage, growing up. The pictures were taken while spending time together at their family home in Kursīši, where Diana visits every summer. The passage of time in the series is revealed both visually and metaphorically, as motifs repeat. Their greenhouse becomes an improvised photo studio, where Tamane takes a portrait of her sister every year. Another recurring subject is the nearby forest, visible from their terrace, which gradually regrows after being cut down.
Photo from https://rpbiennial.com/
The process of taking photos is an opportunity for Tamane to spend time with her younger half-sister, as well as a chance to re-enact her own childhood experiences against the background of a seemingly idyllic seaside village. Thus, Half-Love is both an observation of her sister’s life and their relationship as well as a love letter to her, and Elīna’s continuous eagerness to cooperate and participate in the project reveals the close bond between the two half-sisters, which they managed to create despite the fact that they grew up in different families.
Similarly to Tamane’s previous work, Half-Love focuses on her family (especially the women of the family in several generations) and herself as an integral part of the unit, despite the fact that for many years since graduating high school, Tamane has chosen to live abroad – no closer than the neighbouring country of Estonia. Probably due to the fact that by getting closer and going further away again, she can observe her family and dissect it with an almost typological approach. However, unlike Tamane’s previous works, in Half-Love she has abandoned the strict conceptual frameworks, combining sensitive portraits of her sister with improvised documentary images.
Participants: Diāna Tamane (LV/EE)
Curators: Evita Goze (LV)
Galerii nimi: Latvian Museum of Photography
Address: Mārstaļu iela 8, Central District, Riga, Latvia
Opening hours: Wed 10:00 - 17:00 Thu 12:00 - 19 :00 Fri-Sun 10:00 - 17:00
Open: 19.05.2023 — 23.07.2023
Address: Mārstaļu iela 8, Central District, Riga, Latvia
Opening hours: Wed 10:00 - 17:00 Thu 12:00 - 19 :00 Fri-Sun 10:00 - 17:00
Open: 19.05.2023 — 23.07.2023