Project
This photographic series aims to show the paradoxes between the different generations living in Latvia and more particularly in Riga.
It all started in 2015 when I went to live for 6 months in Latvia as part of Erasmus. At that time, I was a student of economics and social sciences.
The experience totally exceeded my expectations. I discover a country in full awakening, fractured between two visions: part of the population still living the trauma caused by Soviet oppression and the other part, the young, those who have not experienced this free period, independent and dynamic.
Indeed, Latvia finally obtained its independence in 1991 (after having been occupied throughout history by the Swedes, the Germans, the Poles and the Russians). So the country has been free for 25 years. So, on the one hand, there are those over 35. They remember the Soviet regime. They only speak Latvian and Russian, or even only Russian, do not respect any rules of politeness (in fact, during the USSR, politeness was a sign of the bourgeoisie and therefore to be avoided) and are afraid of foreigners. On the other there are those under 30, those who don’t remember those times.
These young people travel all over the world, speak Latvian and English, reject any Russian roots. They are dynamic, open and very creative. And above all, today, it is they who are gradually arriving at the head of large companies, the government, organizations… They are waking up the country and it is an extraordinary thing to witness live to this awakening and its changes.
And that’s the goal of the series: to show these parallels that inhabit Latvia.
Year
2015-2018
