On January 26, 2023 I was lucky and honored to gather a lovely crowd of people to drift through some of my favorite photography captured in 2022.
I was amazed to see how many friends and how many yet unknown people blessed me with their presence and a positive feedback to warm my heart during the cold and grey winterish date.
Photos by Roberts Aboltins
All the stars aligned perfectly and it felt like it was meant to be to have it happen in the cosy spaces of M/Darbnīca and their M/Gallery. It was a pleasure to be a part of Riga Last Thursdays' 16 galleries in it's January edition.
The glass clinking sounds was a merit of VinogaLV who was kind enough to treat us with their delicious wine - just how it's supposed to be at the exhibition openings.
The love was in the air all evening long, since my dear DJ duo Riga Graduate School of Love blessed us with exquisite musical tunes. They knew exactly how to keep the crowd moving.
Of course I couldn't limit myself by just having photos by the walls. Since I'm a fan of a print and zines I couldn't resist to prepare another small work to release on such occasion. A new experimental format of a pocket-sized zine (10x15 cm) was born featuring strictly my analog photos. Therefore it solved the question of the whole concept and I ended up printing only digital stuff in a large format.
The "2022 Got me trippin' " pocket zine is available for purchase here
A small pop-up store was held during the evening where I offered both new and previous items of my creation. A new design t-shirts were also silk-screened in limited amounts.
The "Spriditis" t-shirts available for purchase here.
How did it all come about?!
After skating for 15 years, 2022 was my first time getting a deeper insight on how a skatelife could actually be... how it is to go from event to event... to come back home just for a week... to be living out of suitcase... to keep doing your best after some partying... to try hustle whatever accommodation and to look back at it all as a wild and priceless adventure. For some it's still nothing crazy, but I was trippin' (both travelling and getting high on life). In between all the competitions and tours (both international and local), my dayjobs and freelance stuff, skating for fun or practicing I managed to put my photography to work as well. I was that one guy carrying the large backpack with heavy equipment, while everyone else had all their stuff in a fanny pack or pockets. I was often pissed about that, but then every time I was satisfied as soon as I was going through all the photos I got. Some of those moments I decided to exhibit to my audience in real life. A part of them you might have already seen for a glimpse in your little smartphone screens, but it's always different to take a closer look at the large print or flick through a small magazine. To make things harder for myself I just picked the date and announced the event. Without even knowing where to host it. There is no way back once you set a deadline. This made my potentially boring winterish January into a hectic marathon of work that resulted in a priceless wave of positive emotions .
I couldn't be more thankful for all the love I received. But also my other mission was successfully accomplished - I was able to give people a chance to meet and have a great time. It wasn't only about looking at the photos and purchasing my work, it was about enjoying the overall vibes, dancing, meeting new friends, having deep conversations with the friends you rarely meet and just having a great time. I was happy to hear not only good comments on my work but also the all the thank yous for making such event happen.
Some even said "well, you know that now people will get used to you doing such things, so you will have to keep blessing us on an on". Believe me - it will be my pleasure! I cannot wait to create more and entertain y'all once again!
