Forgetful and Drowsy: The Affective Atmospheres in Contemporary Latvian Photography

Abstract

In the article, we advance the notion of an affective atmosphere for analyzing the works of art by two contemporary Latvian photographers—Aija Bley (b. 1967) and Arnis Balčus (b. 1978). The spatial relations of bodies and environments and the photographed sub-jects’ facial expressions and postures negotiate a sense of postsocialist affectivity that we describe as forgetful and drowsy. In the selected images, the affective atmospheres enact the ambiguities of the Soviet legacies, along with the challenges of neoliberal rationality affecting today’s Latvian society.