[Identification] series of auto-portraits + scanned Nina's locks found in love letters

More than a hundred jewish treasures were found in 2017 in the immured pantry of the empty house situated on Turgeneva street in Riga and ones owned by Jewish Ritov's family. Many of them date back to the XIX-XX centuries and include books, letters, love correspondance, photo albums, interior items, technical documents, Jewish religious attributes and much more. 

Among all the artifacts were found love letters telling the story of affair between one of the  Ritovs family member and russian girl Nina. For this particular story was given a new life throught the artistic interpretation and intervention. There is a sort of hide-n-seek game that artist play in the exhibition space and not everyone even noticed it

[Identification] auto-portrait 1

 [Identification] auto-portrait 2

Lock[ed] repetition of enveloped doubles with minor variation. Auto-portraits, empty envelopes from the collection

Lock[ed] chosen item for intervention into collection along with Nina's business card

Lock[ed] artist's intervention into love story 

Lock[ed] artist's intervention into love story, exhibition displaying 

Lock[ed] artist's intervention into love story, exhibition displaying 

[Hairbrew] letters, locks, hairnet, newspaper, envelopes, hair thread. Artist's interpretation of the love story

[Hairbrew] pile of empty envelopes sewn by hair threads from loosed textile sample of the beginning of XX century that belonged to jewish Ritovs family. Crocodile clip found by artist at Latgalite local market as a responce to the found article called Crocodile woman from the Ritovs collection

[letters that we no longer write] found article from the Ritovs collection

[Hairbrew] exhibition displaying

Lock[ed] + Hairbrew exhibition displaying, T15 gallery, Riga

Rag[ged] creature from partly loosed found textile sample made from horse hair and threads

Rag[ged] sitting on the valve inside exhibition space

Lock[er]s empty envelopes sewn by horse hair from the textile sample of the beginning of XX century. Intervention among other artifacts from the Ritov's collection

[veiled] portrait of love letters owner

[Lack] irregular regions of emptiness instead of repetitive pattern created by the warf and weft. Piece from collection.

[un]paired heel from the Ritov's collection 

Jewish Treasures exhibition took place in the T15 local gallery on the 14th of April 2018

all photographs made by artist

many thanks to the organizers of Jewish Treasures exhibition and Free Riga