Ieva Epnere
Voices (2024)
Trailer
Courtesy of the artist
In Graz, of all places, there is a choir dedicated exclusively to Latvian folk music. Its members are Latvians, Austrians, and other non-Latvians. For Ieva Epnere, the unlikely existence of this choir becomes a starting point to think about processes of (dis)identification with one’s own homeland and turning toward another folklore. Her film portrays subjects in transit, reflecting on belonging and displacement, loss and preservation, while drawing a trajectory through the city.
Singers in traditional Latvian costumes perform semi-choreographed movements that lead them from the Schloßberg stairs to the tunnels within the mountain, and again up to the baroque interiors of Palais Attems. Their passage decenters the image of Graz and the strong presence of Styrian folklore, which was ideologically revitalized and purified after World War II.
The choir performs a new song by Krists Auznieks (born 1992), with lyrics drawn from a Latvian folk song. It questions whether it is worth preserving one’s culture abroad, and whether it is possible to do so without becoming a nationalist.
Ieva Epnere (1977, Liepāja, Latvia) is an artist who works with photography, textiles, video installation, and film. Personal and private stories form the basis for her artistic reflection on identity, traditions, and rituals. Epnere has had twenty-three solo exhibitions and has participated in international group exhibitions and film festivals. Her work has been shown at, among others: IMMA, Dublin; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein; Fogo Island Gallery; Art in General, New York; Daadgalerie, Berlin; Netwerk, Aalst; RIBOCA1, Riga; Kunsthalle Wien. She lives in Riga.
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
Education event
20.9., 16:30
Exhibition tour with Ieva Epnere and Marko Tadić
4K video, stereo sound, 8:20 min.
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
Education event
20.9., 16:30
Exhibition tour with Ieva Epnere and Marko Tadić
