RIGA.- To commemorate and assess the contributions of multi-media artist Hardijs Lediņš (1955–2004) to Latvian culture, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art declared 2015 to be the Year of Hardijs Lediņš, classic of Latvian avant-garde music and art. The year is now in its final months and LCCA presents the largest exhibition to date dedicated to his art ‘Lediņš. Between This and The Other.’ It resonates with the spirit of Approximate Exhibitions organised by Lediņš and his confederates by focusing on process driven art forms in particular.

It takes place across the first floor exhibition halls of the National Library of Latvia from 13 November until 30 December. The exhibition introduces the creative practice of Hardijs Lediņš and its related expressions in contemporary art.

Visitors are invited to view the DIY publications ‘Zirgābols’ (Horse Dung), ‘WCZLS’ and the playfully absurd Dadaist novel ‘ZUN’ by Hardijs Lediņš and Juris Boiko, listen to the recordings of studio ‘Seque’ and Restoration Workshop of Unprecedented Feelings (NSRD), while also getting to know the concepts behind performances and exhibitions, and their related documentation. The exhibition also presents a broad retrospective of video works by Lediņš.

Work by current emerging Latvian artists, whose practices have been influenced by the musical, performative or aesthetic qualities and quotes of Lediņš, are also exhibited across several floors of the Library to coincide with this retrospective. ‘There are several other creative personalities that most certainly must be mentioned in relation to Lediņš’ practice. Thus the retrospective of his archive is intertwined with work by currently practicing artists related to Lediņš in their own approach. This presence of the present-day makes his past contemporary’, explains Līga Lindenbauma, the curator of this exhibition.

During the exhibition Latvian young artist Sabīne Moore will present three performance, while the ‘Poētiskais robotisms’ (Poetic robotics) installation by the creative duo Laura Prikule and Eva Vēvere will occupy several floors of the Library. The exhibition hall features documentation from performances by artist Gundega Evelone, collages by Maija Kurševa and chronicles of social activism actions by the ‘Bolderājas grupa’ (The Bolderaja Group). The process-based object ‘koncentriņš’ (concentre) by the artist collective ‘Klīga’ will be continuously transformed during the exhibition and will conclude with a performance on its last day, 30 December.

A wide programme of related events will supplement the exhibition – various performances, a social activism workshop in Bolderaja and excursions led by the exhibition curator Līga Lindenbauma, as well as the lecture and discussion ‘Has Hardijs Lediņš entered the canon of Latvian contemporary art?’ by Barbara Štraka, the curator of the legendary exhibition ‘Riga – The Latvian Avant-garde’.

The exhibition has been organised by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art and curated by Līga Lindenbauma.