-
Screenshot from the video Press House. Cīņa
Installation view, Rīgas Mākslas Telpa, Latvia, 2016
Installation detail, Rīgas Mākslas Telpa, Latvia, 2016
Press House, book sealed with stamp in a silver envelope
Screenshot from the video Press House. Cīņa
Installation view, Rīgas Mākslas Telpa, Latvia, 2016
Installation detail, Rīgas Mākslas Telpa, Latvia, 2016
Press House, book sealed with stamp in a silver envelope
Press House. Struggle (Cīņa)
installation, video, archival materials, found photography, Rīgas Mākslas Telpa, Riga, Latvia, 2016
The Press House was built in 1978, during the Soviet era. Up to the 90’s when Latvia regained independence, it was one of the only three skyscrapers in Riga and the whole country. Up to this day, a lot of people hold memories and a certain nostalgia about the time that brought forth a feeling for a brighter future.
In the spring of 2014, the old typography wing of the Press House with – 11 000 m² – was given to the creative industries. During the first clean-out we found employee ID cards, original building plans, various documents, photographs, stamps, letter boxes and other traces from the old times. Surveying the portraits of the employee ID cards, we decided to turn them into a book.