In 2013 year, Andrejs Strokins became the winner of KAUNAS PHOTO STAR 2013 portfolio competition. The main prize is an invitation for a solo exhibition at the prestigious KAUNAS PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY, with a support of  KAUNAS PHOTO festival towards the realization of the exhibition.

“People in the dunes” project by Andrejs Strokins explores the borders between urban and wild nature around Bolderāja and Daugavgrīva districts, which are located in the periphery of Riga, few kilometers away from the Gulf of Riga. After World War II, the fishing villages build on the dunes were replaced with blockhouses and some parts of Daugavgrīva became a closed military area. Now 23 years have passed, but the mainly Russian-speaking population of the area is still lives the lifestyle of the past.

This complex area and particular cultural environment was a perfect field for a young photographer in the development of his own style. The photographs of the “People in the dunes” speak the same language as those of numerous other contemporary Latvian photographers, who use landscape as the genre par excellence and a distanced observer’s look to reveal the physical and emotional world of dwellers of the landscapes depicted. Still, compared to the majority of Latvian urbanscapes often charged with irony, Strokins’ works radiate melancholic humanism and shy optimism.

Exhibition is hosted by KAUNAS PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY from July 30 to August 30, 2014.

The exhibition “People in the Dunes” at KAUNAS PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY will be on display until August 30. In the framework of  the 11th KAUNAS PHOTO festival, this exhibition is a warm-um before the kick-off og the main programm in the first weeks of September 2014.

Practical info about the exhibition >here<.