MĀRIS GROSBAHS /LV/

https://rojalab.lv/maris/

“Blue Piglet of Hope”

In 2011, with the changes taking place in the slumbering city of Roja, the desire to activate the interaction between art, society and the environment was also awakened. The existing image of a fishing village, in our opinion, was no longer relevant to the current situation and needs of the town. A solution, a push, a sign was needed. When the idea of the Rojal film festival was born, the Blue Piglet of Hope was born. I had previously created smaller “hopes” elsewhere. Here I needed something much bigger. With the support of the municipality, it was created in a short time and soon, in a festive mood – on Midsummer’s Day, together with Juris Viļamas, Jurģis Krāsons and others, we took the “Blue Piglet of Hope” to the streets, paths, backyards, the stadium, squares, bus stops of Roja. Now it is installed every summer season on the public beach of Roja for viewing and care.

 “I have seen pigs as long as I have been here on the Earth. I know what a pig is, or so I thought. I saw pigs at my grandmother’s farm in Latvia as a child. (I have forgotten that I saw blue pigs!) Science allows us to grasp many facts about pigs. As an artist I learned much about anatomy, shape, line, sounds and so forth jet once I have done all that analysis, I still can ask, what is a pig?

I represent my piglet accurately. Because of the clear respect I have for them and their high importance in Homo sapiens’ life and history.”

Excerpt from Maris Grosbahs annotation for the exhibition “Blue Piglets of Hope”, 2003, San Jose, California.