“Half-Love: A Personal Exhibition by Photographer Diāna Tamane Dedicated to Her Half-Sister”

“Half-Love” – “Half-Love”. That’s why photographer Diāna Tamane plays with the word “half-sister”, dedicating the personal exhibition of the Riga Photography Biennale program “NEXT” at the Latvian Museum of Photography to her half-sister. There is also a written message framed on the wall next to the photos: “Dear Elina, last time in Kursiši you asked if I would write you a letter in English. You also asked how long I would continue to photograph you. I answered – until you are 18. Or, perhaps, as long as I live. May I ask? Yes, you said (..) This is a letter for you. But also for myself.”

Diana Tamane started documenting her sister from her father’s second marriage, who is now 14, when she was born. In a place that is also dear to her and where she herself spent her childhood summers – Kursiši on the Vidzeme seaside.

Summer cottages for VEF employees of the factory were located in Kurkisi. Diana Tamane says: “My father and grandmother worked at VEF, and so did my mother’s parents. That’s why our family had two [vasaras] home. I felt very safe there. I could go to one, it feeds, then go to another!”

Having graduated from Tartu Art College and “LUCA School of Arts” in Brussels, as well as a master’s degree in Ghent, Diāna Tamane now lives and works in Estonia. They come to Latvia in summer. She is an internationally recognized photographer, she has had personal exhibitions in Germany, France, Belgium, China, but her first book “Flower Smuggler” won the prestigious French festival “Les Rencontres d’Arles” in the author’s photo album category three years ago. Tamane has also entered the Estonian art scene. “This year I even received two awards from Estonia. One is called “Live and Shine”, the other is the most important award of the city of Tartu, which they give to one artist every year,” says the photographer.

“Half-Love” is Tamanei’s fourth solo exhibition in Latvia. Previously, she made extensive use of pictures taken by relatives, conducting an almost anthropological study of family photo traditions. In the previous exhibition, ISSP Gallery showed the drawings and videos of Tatjana Burbo, a long-distance driver. This time, only her own works are on display. Evita Goze, who is the curator of the Tamane exhibition for the third time, says: “It is important to understand that this is not just a story about Diana’s sister. If she had to represent herself, she would probably do it on TikTok or some other platform. in terms of Diana’s self-portrait, in which she relives her childhood.”

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In these pictures, we see the relationship of half-sisters, says the curator, we see that the two have formed a lasting bond, which does not always happen in separated families. And photography is another way to reinforce it.

Sara Hakli, the chief curator of the Kiasma Museum of Modern Art in Helsinki, whom I met at the opening of the exhibition, also talks about the psychological aspects of this photo event: “Of course, it is also a very delicate topic. If you are a small child, can you decide that you can be photographed? But at the same time, that’s how you build a relationship with your half-sister. It’s a story about intimacy, about observing yourself from a different perspective. Growing up is a very fragile thing. They’re both very brave, both a photographer and a model.”

Diana Tamani will still be able to meet at the “Half-Love” exhibition on the evening of June 1, when visitors are scheduled to take a joint walk with her and curator Evita Gozi.

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