Ghosts of Impossible Present
Exhibition
20.02.2026. - 19.04.2026.
The Baltic region is full of silent witnesses – ghosts resulting from ill-considered industrialization, extraction economy, and political mistakes, as well as from Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine. The exhibition invites us to listen to these testimonies. The mentioned ghosts are not just a metaphor. From 20 February until 19 April, the contemporary art exhibition “Ghosts of Impossible Present” will be on view at Pauls Stradins Medicine History Museum (MHM), addressing ecologically traumatised environments and their interaction with humans. The exhibition is organized by Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA), in collaboration with PSMHM, with participation of artists from the Baltic states.
In the exhibition, artists from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – Linda Boļšakova, Liene Pavlovska, Līva Dudareva, Eglė Budvytytė, Kristina Õllek and Elo-Reet Järv – offer an associative perspective on the ghosts of our shared ecosystem in the exhibition.
Imprints of the past, which are stored in rocks, fossils, and the urban environment, will be brought to life with the help of movement and sound in works by Linda Boļšakova. A critical rereading of the patriarchal power verticals of the Soviet era will be presented by Liene Pavlovska, using encyclopedias of that time as evidence of ideological constructions. Kristina Õllek in her works studies the ecological processes of the Baltic Sea, especially the proliferation of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae, which create yearly threats of ecosystem collapse. In Līva Dudareva’s works, rock modules resulting from nuclear tests, and their imprints upon the human body, become a frightening reminder of the fragility of peace and the possibility of war. The cast of Eglė Budvytytė’s film embody hybrid forms of life that inhabit post-apocalyptic landscapes. Meanwhile, Elo Rīta Jarve’s sculptures of skin and fossils, created several decades ago and remarkably innovative for their time, blur the boundaries between stone and animal, and between human and cyborg.
In 2024, the exhibition was presented in the art space “State of Concept Athens”, where it was organized by LCCA. Developing its concepts further, the exhibition in Riga is being created in collaboration with researchers from the Pauls Stradins Medicine History Museum, and includes items from the museum's collection. These allow us to explore Soviet-era notions of the body's interaction with an ecologically traumatized environment, and the imprints of ideology on thinking about health, nature, and social roles.
Team:
Curator - Solvita Krese
Curator for the Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum collection section - Ieva Salna
Architect - Līva Dudareva
Artists:
Latvia - Linda Boļšakova, Līva Dudareva, Liene Pavlovska
Lithuania - Egle Budvītīte (Eglė Budvytytė)
Estonia - Kristina Olleka (Kristina Õllek), Elo Rīta Jarve (Elo-Reet Järv)
Research support - Indra Taškāne, Vineta Blitsone, Zane Alika, Dita Kļaviņa-Lauberte
Collection and loans - Antra Skripste-Špāka
Project managers - Mārīte Lempa (LCCA), Kristians Priekulis
Production - Elīza Anna Reine (LCCA)
Public communication - Dana Zālīte (LCCA), Agita Birziete, Māris Šteinbergs
Assistant - Sigita Urlovska (LCCA)
Supported by:
State Culture Capital Foundation, Estonian Embassy in Riga, and Estonian Artists’ Association.
