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The Mural “Kopā”/ “Together” unveiled in Talsi

2022. gada 18. jūlijs

This summer, in the very heart of Talsi, the mural Kopā / Together by the artist Zīle Ziemele has appeared. In creating this work, the artist was inspired by the children’s book by Imants Ziedonis Me, A Human Being in the World in which the writer focuses on life, time, growth, development, work and other topics, as well as by her new acquaintanceship with the people of Talsi. The mural in Talsi is one of the five large-format works that are realized this summer under the auspices of the project implemented by educational direction Ziedoņa klase (Ziedonis class) in cooperation with the foundation Art Needs Space. The murals in the regions of Latvia have been created with support of the European Economic Area financial instrument.

“Getting to know the town of Talsi, its history and the people who have lived and still live here, the focus came to rest upon an unusual and important person for Talsi – Tīcs Dzintarkalns (1874–1937), who has devoted his life to this small town in Kurzeme. The composition of the mural was inspired by the wall paintings in Tīcs’ house Dzintari, depicting various fairy tales and mythological scenes. The author of the wall paintings is the artist Kārlis Sūniņš, better known as a watercolourist, who was also born in Talsi region. The idea of the gradual transition resembling watercolour on the wall in the centre of Talsi has been inspired by this mood,” the author Zīle Ziemele explains her artwork.

The wall painting was created in the style of folk romanticism, where the facade of Talsi Art School is divided into several scenes. The composition of the painting contains various symbols, including a celestial body, reminding us that we live together in the same World – under the Sun, where much is unknown. The work of art depicts the reflection of Talsi ancient castle in the lake, while the clew as the centre of the composition symbolically encompasses the shared experience of mankind in Talsi – both the development as seen by the poet Ziedonis and the weaving tradition essential to Talsi. The artist Zīle Ziemele was advised by regional researcher Imants Tamsons and folklorist Liena Eidone, as well as other active residents of Talsi, the Talsi Regional Museum and the Talsi Art School, which during the work process helped her to become acquainted with the environment and history of Talsi.

“Our goal is for contemporary art to appear in the urban environment, to become more accessible to people. We have approached talented Latvian artists who get to know and study a place in Latvia of their choice in order to create contemporary and environmentally suitable murals. Murals arouse interest and stimulate discussion about contemporary art. Thus, we can definitely assert that society benefits and becomes more educated through this process!” the project manager of Ziedoņa klase Elizabete Pavlovska tells us about the project.

 

Imants Ziedonis Foundation Viegli , Ziedoņa klase is implementing a project “Me, A Human Being in the World”, A Tool for Fostering Contemporary Culture Processes (project No. EEZ/2021/1/28) with the support of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism for the period 2014–2020 programme Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Cultural Cooperation, awarded under the open call Support for the Creation of Professional Art and Cultural Products for Children and Youth.

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