From August 8 to September 19, the ISSP Gallery at Berga Bazārs will host the solo exhibition “The Sea is Silent, Yet I Return” by artist Madara Kvēpa. The exhibition explores ecological sensitivity – the formation of relationships with nature, its elements, rhythms and silences.
Over a prolonged period of returning to familiar sites along the Baltic Sea coast, the artist documents her encounters with pine trees, stones, wind, tides, algae, and sand through analogue photography and diary entries. In these moments of connection, she not only feels the presence of nature, but also seeks to understand: what is it like to be a stone, or be a tree? Time and slow return become both a form of expression and a method of artistic research. Kvēpa asks: "Is empathy for nature something we can train?"
The exhibition addresses the impact of climate change on Latvia’s coastal landscape – a vital part of our collective memory and identity. Closeness to nature offers solace and shelter, while also serving as a reminder of our responsibility and deep interconnection with the environment.
Madara Kvēpa (1996) is a visual artist currently pursuing a professional doctoral degree at the Art Academy of Latvia. Since 2016, she has actively participated in group exhibitions and presented her solo show ‘Vesels’ at the 2021 Cēsis Art Festival, as well as taking part in the Riga Photomonth group exhibition ‘Utopias’ (2022). To date, she has held ten solo exhibitions, the most recent being ‘Field Studies in Ancestral Memory’ at the gallery Myymälä2 in Helsinki, Finland (2023).
Curator: Liāna Ivete Žilde
Scenographer: Ieva Stalšene
Exhibition Events Programme:
August 26, 18:30–20:00
Mindful Walk in Urban Nature with Rvīns Varde
September 6, 17:00–23:00
White Night Programme:
Reinis Semēvics and Michael Holland: sound performance Hearing the Sea Speak
Experience the exhibition together with artist Madara Kvēpa
September 18, 18:00–19:30
Public Discussion with Artists and Researchers
Art and Ethnography: Border Zones of Research
The exhibition is supported by Riga City Council, the State Culture Capital Foundation and VPT Grupa.