Ance Eikena

Ance Eikena (1997) won the Purvītis Prize 2023 for her exhibition “Our Heavenly Father”. Initially exhibited at the exhibition hall “Brīvība”, the exhibition stirred up the Latvian contemporary art scene. The work is a personal opening to the story of her relationship with her father, who struggled with alcohol addiction. In a broader context, the work also reveals the consequences of the Soviet occupation – widespread addictions and their impact on future generations, as well as the ways in which relationships with problematic, estranged or deceased fathers are resolved by their adult children. Eikena’s message is universal, painful and almost spiritual – a father is simultaneously both immeasurably important and “great” (i.e., divine), and fragile and unattainable (because he has his own, bigger, problems). The installation successfully integrates documentary photographs from the artist's childhood, sculpture, painting, and authentic objects from her father, all of which together create a blurred distinction between documentary and fiction. From a personal story, the exhibition turns into a collective experience. One of the most poignant and open works in Latvian contemporary art, the creation of which is based on both courage and prolonged self-reflection.

“Our Heavenly Father”. 2021. Mixed-media spatial installation.