The Bright Night of the Soul
Atis Jākobson’s personal exhibition “The Bright Night of the Soul” will be on view in the Creative Studio of the ARSENĀLS Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga (Torņa iela 1, 2nd floor) from 8 September to 29 October 2017.
Atis Jākobsons’ personal exhibition in the Creative Studio of ARSENĀLS forms a multi-layered visual language, creating a complex totality of symbols and images which is difficult to decipher, and perhaps it is intentionally impossible. The artist leads us on the path of asemic writing. The word “asemic” means that the writing has no special semantic content. It is a range of meditative signs that can be interpreted in various ways and has an open meaning. Asemic writing can resemble everything and nothing at the same time. Some examples are reminiscent of pictograms and ideograms, words can be written from left and from right, from top to bottom and the other way around. The associations of asemic text can also be perceived through the form in which the words are arranged. Each viewer’s interpretation is accurate.
Atis Jakobson’s new solo exhibition The Bright Night of the Soul reveals various ways how to research the Self, as well as wonders whether an idealized and united “I” exists at all. By relaxing his consciousness and letting the natural flow of thought take over, Atis Jākobsons forms the space of his language, which frames his world and broad interests. The flow of consciousness of an unconscious writer is turned into a visual language and freed from rational control and sediments of meaning. It is like an emotionally directed inner movement that moves outside as an abstract extension of a line. His works are neither references to specific cultural phenomena nor attached to any tradition, although the material about the history of human culture that was read and studied during the development of the idea has definitely served as an inspiration to create objects that may resemble real artefacts.
Atis Jākobsons works in various media – drawing, painting, sculptural objects, painted textiles as well as contemporary technology. At the basis of the project are the visual notes made by Atis Jākobsons during his travels, but an equally important role is played by the space and the work’s interaction with it. Thus, for example, the relationship between the drawing’s frame and the Studio’s wall, the relationship of the textile with the painting or a sofa placed in the exhibition space are elements of utmost importance for the exposition. The exhibition becomes a space where everything can co-exist – naive, strong, weak, contemporary, primitive, framed in gold or right on the floor.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Atis Jākobsons (1985) graduated from the Department of Painting of the Art Academy of Latvia, where in 2010 he earned his master’s degree. Atis Jākobsons studied at Manchester Metropolitan University in Great Britain, as well as worked in residencies in Berlin, Paris and Murcia. He has participated in group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad since 2003. His first personal exhibition Sleep took place in 2006. In 2013, the artist was nominated for the Purvītis Prize for the work Truth is Simple (with Kate Krolle). Atis Jākobsons also was a candidate of the Purvītis Prize 2017 with his exhibition Dark Matter shown at the Mūkusala Art Salon.
EXHIBITION CURATOR:
Līna Birzaka-Priekule, Exhibition Curator, Head of the Creative Studio at the ARSENĀLS Exhibition Hall, Latvian National Museum of Art
EXHIBITION OBJECTS:
Art objects displayed at the exhibition have been created in collaboration with Maija Mackus