Atis Jākobsons

03.09.2022

Atis Jākobsons (1985) graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia with a master’s degree in painting. He studied at Manchester Metropolitan University in England, and has worked at residencies in Berlin, Paris and Murcia. He has participated in group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad since 2003; in 2017 he was nominated for the Purvītis Prize.

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Works from the series DARK MATTER DIARY (2017)

Works from the series Dark Matter Diary can be seen in person at Tīklu šķūnis in Mazirbe until September 30, by prior arrangement at energart@arterritory.com.

The Dark Matter project invited the viewer to experience the cognitive threshold of different layers of the unknown. In making this spatial design, drawings based on empirical, intuitive and complex observations of everyday reality were created. Dark Matter was an eclectic form of installation that aimed not to reflect but to interrogate and meditate on the perception of the unknown by creating an artistic and meaningful experience on various sensory levels (sight, smell, hearing). Dark Matter was an artistic proposal to give physical materiality to the known elements and boundaries of the unknown.

The project was conceived as an interdisciplinary installation consisting of charcoal drawings, an installation section, video works, and an accompanying soundtrack. The installation part – the sculptural formation of a black pool filled with used motor oil producing a black mirror-like surface – was developed together with woodworker Didzis Breidaks. I invited artist Kaspars Groševs to create a sound piece to accompany the exhibition, and our successful collaboration resulted in the creation of an ambient piece that truly complements the work.

A catalogue was created to accompany the exhibition. The idea behind the catalogue was to make it a stand-alone work of art that includes works in the exhibition, as well as other works and sketches, and which will remain a lasting value after the exhibition is over – a continuation of the exhibition in book form.

In 2017 the works were exhibited in the exhibition Dark Matter / Tumšā matērija at Mūkusala Art Salon in Riga. The exhibition was nominated for the national award “Kilograms kultūras 2017”, the Newspaper “Diena” Annual Awards in Culture, and the 2017 Purvītis Prize. The latter included participation in the Purvītis Prize Finalists Exhibition for 2017.