Latvia - Biennale Arte 2015

The Latvian pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition presents ARMPIT, a multimedia art installation by Katrīna Neiburga and Andris Eglītis. It is a sculpted system of building constructions interwoven with video-stories about a peculiar local phenomenon, "garage elves", who tend to spend their leisure time tinkering with various mechanisms in workshops set up for this hobby.

Andris Eglītis has created an improvised cast of the peculiar microcosm of the garage communities. It is a kaleidoscopic system of sculpted building structures, made of prefabricated building materials of the vernacular shantytown architecture. The building structure is interwoven with the video narratives by Katrīna Neiburga. Her portraits of the members of garage communities reside as imagined inhabitants of the newly installed dwelling, which reminds a mixture between a convent and a sweat-shop.

This is the first collaboration of the artist couple, with each contributing through his or her usual artistic practice. Katrīna Neiburga usually works with time-based media, using them in her socio-anthropological investigative art, multimedia installations and scenography. Andris Eglītis tends toward the traditional in his choice of media; his desire to experiment with painting and novel sculptural forms has led him to turn to architectonic exercises as a bodily experienced practice versus concept-based art.