In the exposition devised by “Chest of Friends”, the found objects are not passive remnants but saturated characters that illuminate one another through their diverse materialities. Positioned in proximity, these objects and remnants allow their divergent histories - lost functions, accumulated memories, and places of origin - to resonate within a shared field of presence. Guided by the interpretations by both artist and viewer, this process unfolds as a conversation rather than a construct, in which methodologies dissolve and intersect. Their physical and symbolic properties propel the work, blurring boundaries between sculpture, sound, and moving image, so that the outcome emerges not solely from the artist’s will but also through the agency of the objects themselves.
In this project, Kristers delves into a field of inquiry developed over the past three years of his research, where visual art, music, found objects, and their interrelations - or “friendships” - intertwine. The artist’s aim is to understand what tensions and resonances arise when the process of making art occurs not in solitude but in collaboration with things: found objects bearing traces of time, place, or use. These objects function not merely as material elements but as catalysts that activate creative processes and propose conceptual trajectories to be further developed in sound, form, or spatial composition. In this way, the found objects become points of departure for the artist’s thinking, which get further contextualised through the involvement of friends.
Within the artist’s practice, questions of authenticity and sincerity are central. The works emerge as reflections on autobiographical situations and incorporate personal associations with significant people and places. Found objects become vessels of memories and affects. Simultaneously, the decision-making involved in setting up an exhibition constitutes an essential component of the work, within which the conversation and feedback from friends play a crucial role. The construction and spatial arrangement of the exhibition are understood as performative acts and a creative practice in their own right - the work’s true core - which generates ideas, transforms, and contextualizes the work through dialogue. The labour invested in producing the exhibition thus becomes a mode of expression, shaped both by the frictions of co-creation and by feedback which continue to inform the artist’s thinking and future practice.
This work was originally presented as part of the MA POST grad show "Your House has Cavities" at Jānis Kuga House, Ikšķile, Latvia in June of 2025 and reimagined as part of the BDO "Young Artists Award" finalist exhibition in Experimental Art Space PILOT.
Artists: Katrīna Biksone, Baiba Čadore, Armands Andže, Elizabete Andersone, Laura Aizporiete, Kristers Krūms.
[26.02. - 02.04.2026]