Laura Veļa. Wounded Memory
Wounded Memory, a solo exhibition of Laura Veļa, is on view in the Cupola Hall of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga (Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1) from 28 September to 17 November 2024.
The exhibition creates space for a discussion about the effect the trauma caused by the deportation of residents of Latvia has on contemporary society. The title Wounded Memory comes from a combination of two concepts: “social memory” – an understanding of historical events, socio-political processes and their interpretation, and “wound” – in reference to a physical trauma that leads to changes in the body.
The main theme of the project is a conversation about the passing of cultural trauma from generation to generation. Researchers point out that cultural trauma can be inherited genetically as well as through family upbringing in the family and social environment. Its manifestations are manifold: anxiety, depression, inability to deal with strong emotions, which leads to emotional alienation or insensitivity, anger, self-destructive behaviour, and intense fear.
The term “trauma” comes from the Greek word trauma (τρῶμᾰ), meaning wound or scar. Cultural trauma is sometimes also called mental scar, and it is possible to work on it by turning to a variety of healing rituals. Breaking the silence is paramount. Likewise, it is dangerous to become stuck in the role of victim or survivor, identifying excessively with suffering and the past and unable to move forward. Therefore, it is necessary to understand, admit, remember, and interrupt the passing on of the trauma.
Through her personal experience, artist Laura Veļa analyses the stories, recollections and conscious or unconscious traumas passed on in the family. Her solo exhibition is a reflection on the feelings of the individual in a society where one of the identity-defining elements is the cultural trauma acquired from the deportations of people to Siberia, and a call for the healing of the wounded collective memory.
About the artist
Laura Veļa investigates the ideas of identity and social memory, which she uses as the conceptual basis of her works. She studied the piano, information technology, image processing, and painting. In 2020, Laura Veļa completed her master’s studies at the Department of Painting of the Art Academy of Latvia, earned a Boris and Inara Teterev scholarship as well as the Nordic and Baltic Young Artist Award in 2021. Currently she is studying in the professional doctorate study programme at the Art Academy of Latvia.
