This is only photograph I have saved of installation, yet there have been two other sites where it has been installed. Installation in picture is situated in Stockholm School Of Economics Riga, Latvia (SSE Riga). Year 2013. Behind it is installation made by Olegs Tilbergs, purchased by SSE Riga. This was temporary installation of archive boxes at school premises. Currently archive boxes are storead at my warehouse, waiting for another exposition.
This Installation represents very old foundations which are base on which new library building and institution is developed. Boxes and labels of this archive have gone through at least three eras - Russian Tsar regime, First world war, Latvia state founded in y1918, Second World war and Soviet regime in Latvia. Labels in boxes represent all of those times.
This Installation represents very old foundations which are base on which new library building and institution is developed. Boxes and labels of this archive have gone through at least three eras - Russian Tsar regime, First world war, Latvia state founded in y1918, Second World war and Soviet regime in Latvia. Labels in boxes represent all of those times.
I became owner of archive boxes during librarys move to new building (picture below). Boxes were long forgotten in basement of Letonika division of Latvia National Library, Riga Old City, Jekaba str. 6/8. Letonika has been named a centerpiece of Latvia National Library, I still have A4 paper blanc with handwriteen text by director of Latvia National Library - Andris Vilks - saying - "Letonika is the heart of Latvia National Library".
Library book cards are writeen by hand, mostly in ink. Languages are those, which have been used in Latvia during each period. You can track down cards written in English, Russian (19th century russian), French. Only little number of cards bear Latvian language as it became widespread and official only at the beginning of 20th century (y1905-1920).