Arnis Balčus’s book The Scene about the youth subculture will be out
On February 14, with a special music and art program, Arnis Balčus’s book Scēna, which focuses on the alternative subculture of young people, will be opened at DEPO club.
The Scene is the community that has formed around the concerts held by young alternative music groups, such as Nikotīņi, Pauls Raimonds and ŠŅK in Riga’s alternative music clubs Depo and Republika, sometimes also in the underground venues Lastādija and Ādmiņu 4. The Scene is not just about music, it is a platform for socialisation, creative activities, and some even call it their home. The core of the book consists of nearly two hundred photos of Balčus, taken over several years, as well as the drawings by the book’s characters themselves, creating a colorful, bright, unusual, but also direct and rough statement about today’s young people who have difficulty fitting into society.
“Insane military conflicts, inevitable climate change, ruthless capitalism are our legacy to the new generation. Some quickly become obedient slaves of the system, while others fall into despair and project a sense of hopelessness and doom in various ways. Can they change the world or is it too late? This book is about the young people whom the system has not yet managed to break,” says the author of the book, Arnis Balčus.
Last year, ISSP Gallery hosted the Balčus exhibition The Scene, which most of the experts polled by FK Magazine noted as the main event of the year in Latvian photography. This project is not only a testimony of a unique cultural phenomenon of Latvia, but also a meaningful example of social inclusion and a precedent for the broad limits of the medium of photography.
On February 14, at club DEPO (Valņu 32) from At 7:30 p.m., the alternative music groups DziļiVienalga and Defekts will play, poetry will be read by the young people of the Scene, and one of the characters and co-authors of the book, Metalurga, or Kristiāns, will have a performance. This evening, the book will be available for purchase at a lower price than later in bookstores. Entrance to the event 3 EUR.
The book is 240 pages with hard vegan leather cover as well as 8 page appendix with picture captions, issued only in 400 copies. The design was created by Alexey Murashko, the book was published by the association Kultkom with the support of the Riga City Council and the State Cultural Capital Fund.
The book can be purchased in the FK online bookstore.
