Vika Eksta (LV, b. 1987) is an artist based in Riga, Latvia. Her work focuses on autobiographical narratives and existential subjects, conducting artistic research on Eastern European life and reflecting on questions of historical trauma. Eksta works with a range of creative approaches, spanning photography, analogue photo processing, video, performance, and audio-visual archival research.
At Foto Tallinn, Vika Eksta’s contribution recalls the loss of her aunt – as well as the beginning of her relationship with photography: “Around twelve years ago, my aunt Zoņa passed away. At that time, I had only just started taking photographs, and I was infatuated with the great photographers of the Magnum photo agency – mostly men of French, Jewish and Anglo-Saxon origin. Documenting life and conflict across the world to create new photo series under the aegis of the agency, Magnum photographers arrived at the scene as neutral observers; they studied foreign dramas through their lenses, then caught their planes back to Paris, analysing the collected shots in search of the most successful compositions. I was consumed by the idea that my mission, likewise, was to document life as objectively as possible. Armed with a 35mm camera and a few black-and-white Ilford films, I went to my aunt Zoņa’s funeral – thinking about how Cartier-Bresson might have seen it.”
Artist is presented by ALMA & Gallery
