2024 Finalists
Santa Kristiāna Krūze
And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself
80 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, 2024
Dedicated to Troubadour Gourmand cafe in Riga – a place where one can feel like a human being.
French cafe – a real place in the heart of Riga, loved by many. Visited daily by the regulars, students, artists, animals and all manner of odd creatures, all united by the cheap prices, tasty croissants and the relaxed atmosphere that permeates the place.
The cafe was created by Bernard Larane, he is portrayed in the painting as the man who slips coming out of the cafe. A while back Bernard injured his leg, and spent a good amount of time with a brace, and yet he kept working all day long with a limp. I thought he was crazy, and was imagining scenarios how this could have happened, perhaps this is how.
This piece is about the tragicomical side of the human nature that makes us behave as if there were no consequences. That tends to lead to tense situations, fights, threats, survival and revenge. And being in an environment without rules people become who they really are. The French cafe seems to be such a place. Here we could have a fistfight, cry and afterwards eat a pastry and drink wine, because we want to think that there are no consequences. In my piece I accentuate my love for loud, brave and ‘’rude’’ people that act without thinking, by becoming the soldier and acting on the spot.
(15/33)
