MAREUNROL’S. Invisible Sounds, Imaginary Scenes. | Baltā nakts
06.09.2025.Invisible Sounds, Imaginary Scenes. 2025
Sound object
Location: Riga City Council Vestibule
In an age when the fragmented information of the virtual world has flooded the human consciousness, it is easy to forget that it is impossible to know everything. The only way to obtain absolute information is to ask all possible questions. The media now create a cacophonous parallel world in which information overload creates frustration and an inability to distinguish true knowledge from fake news.
A press conference console, visually designed to resemble a church pulpit, serves as a metaphorical symbol of the nature of media — the work reflects on information warfare and the voice as a deliberately provocative tool that polarizes, deceives with falsehoods, and is present in global geopolitical conflicts, wars, and dishonest leaders. The imagined images of current processes encourage us to look more attentively, consciously, and responsibly, assessing with irony our relevance. This object reflects upon the human psyche's responses to the noise of the chaotic environment; it indicates a growing alienation, which in this context can be interpreted as a distancing from each other but also from us, nature, faith, and a higher truth. Is everything really as I have imagined? There are many questions, but in the meantime, the conference has only a few minutes left to run.
Invisible Sounds, Imagined Scenes is a sound collage or poem created by the poet Marija Luīze Meļķe in the style of fragmentation. Listening to the soundtracks entering the field of consciousness, our brain perceives everything – noise, intonation, timbre of voice, words, opinions, sometimes without even realising that every nuance of what we hear is affecting the psyche and subconsciously creating an endless cacophony of sounds.
With this object, MAREUNROL'S returns to the symbolism of birds – a metaphor for a higher power that lifts the broken and subjugated human being. Birds have historically played the role of God's messengers, connecting the temporal and the transcendent. Here it serves as a reminder of the essentials in human beings. This raises the question of whether we should continue to make noise or leave space for silence and peace.
About artists
MAREUNROL'S is a Riga-based artist duo – Mārīte Mastiņa-Pēterkopa and Rolands Pēterkops. Their creative work focuses on narrative and reflection on the world around them, expressed in various artistic disciplines – including fashion design, fabric and textile sculptures, fashion collections, set design, installations, video and audio works, as well as opera and theatre costume design. MAREUNROL'S simultaneously pushes and challenges the boundaries. Their works are constructions of the mind, imagination, and senses that act as sensitive antennae, picking up the vibrations of their times, deconstructing them, bringing out the essence, and expressing it through the universal language of fashion. With this approach, they continuously invite the audience to see the world from new perspectives.
The duo has participated in numerous international competitions, festivals, biennales, and group exhibitions outside Latvia. In 2009, both artists won two main prizes at the 24th International Hyeres Fashion and Photography Festival, and in 2016, they were among ten European nominees for the prestigious International Woolmark Prize.
In 2019, their retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design became the most visited exhibition at the museum that year and was nominated for the Latvian Public Media Award in the category Best Visual Art Exhibition. MAREUNROL'S exhibition Invisible Exercises was nominated for the 2025 Purvītis Prize. The creative team will represent Latvia in the Latvian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026.
Supported by: Riga City Municipality, Baltā nakts, Dūrmuiža, Kurzeme Planning Region, Zemlika Festival of Music, Art and Local Harvest.
Thanks to: Edgars Briedis, Gerds Lapoška, Miks Magone, Inga Mastiņa, Marija Luīze Meļķe, Olivers Tarvids.
