Ieva Epnere (b. 1977 Latvia)
Later (Potom), 2016
video, single-channel, HD video projection, colour, sound, 20’07”
Courtesy of artist

The video titled Potom,which in Russian means Later,deals with conflicted geographies,specifically withthe Soviet occupation in Latvia. Itcombines the past and the ghost of the past, which is personified by the figure of a former Soviet navy officerwho even today continues to engage in his ascetic rituals in an abandoned officers’ house in the Latvian city of Liepāja, as if nothing has changed since the dissolution of the USSR. His existence could be explained as symbolizing the presence of “non-citizens” – former military personnel who have mentally remained in the Soviet era but who physically live in independent Latvia.The symbolic replacement of different powers is tangible in the film, from the Soviet occupation to the restoration of state independence: note the scene with Latvian Naval forcescleaning theirclothes, metaphorically trying to remove the dust of the past.