Emma Sofia | Trauma, kā jau trauma

M/Gallery x Riga Last Thursdays x Emma Sofia

The exhibition ‘’Trauma, as Trauma’’ is dedicated to the process of exploring mental health. The landscapes painted in the motif of Marina serve as a natural therapy for the artist, with the intention of focusing on memory and its function. The presence of the sea or water becomes an effective way to improve mental health, which is why the motif of the sea features in this series of works. ‘’To be by the sea is to be at peace.’’

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Memory is a psychic process in which people can remember, reproduce, and forget experiences, thoughts, and images. The perception of things, the language of conversation, the holding of attention, thoughts, and memories are a set of problem-solving systems without which it is impossible to perceive incoming information. These essential processes and capacities send us signals every day, enabling us to resonate as individuals in today's society. We live in interesting and complex times where daily routines, 'fast' living, and global events cause great stress. As a consequence, the number of people diagnosed with cognitive impairment has risen sharply in recent years, which makes us wonder about the relevance of this topic. Memory and its functionality are the leitmotif of this exhibition.The exhibition delves into the realm of traumatic life experiences, where memories are often obscured, and recollections are distorted. This can be explained by our desire to protect ourselves, akin to basic survival instincts.

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The artist created a social survey that collected and summarized different stories about traumatic experiences - emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and incidents that affected the memory processes of the respondents. The stories collected form the concept of memory impairment and loss, a widespread phenomenon after traumatic experiences. These stories, collected from the survey, are used as descriptions of the author's work. The author is grateful to the people who have been open and shared their life experiences.

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​The opening will take place on July 27th at 18:00 as part of this month's Riga Last Thursdays. The motif of the sea features prominently in this series of works, as the presence of water becomes an effective way to improve mental health.