Maretta Staprāne–Bārlova's exhibition “Laima. Raimonds: Portraits of Family Happiness” | Raina and Aspazija's Summerhouse

Raina and Aspazija's Summerhouse in Jūrmala has opened the exhibition “LAIMA. RAIMONDS: Portraits of Family Happiness”, authored by Maretta Staprāne Bārlova.

The starting point of the exhibition is the question: what does happiness look like? A person's portrait is formed not only from the external appearance, but also from what usually remains invisible: memories, personally significant music, favorite colors and places, smiles and brain activity. LAIMA connects Raimonds Staprāns' artistic heritage with the perspective of the next generation, involving the color, light, space and composition principles characteristic of his painting in a new artistic process.

The exhibition focuses on 27 members of the Staprāns family from four generations. Everyone has their own life experience, idea of ​​happiness and a way to experience it. During the creation of the works, the participants answered questions about happiness, listened to music that was meaningful to them and focused on memories of moments of joy, peace and intimacy. At the same time, their brain electrical activity was recorded using electroencephalography, or EEG.

EEG data is not used to diagnose emotions or scientifically measure happiness. Alpha, beta, theta and gamma activity readings are converted into parameters that affect the intensity, visual structure, level of detail and sharpness of the pattern. This is part of the artistic method developed by the author, not a clinical interpretation of EEG data. The result is not a psychological profile or scientific illustration, but a work of art in which personal experience takes on visual form. The exhibition also features visualizations of brain activity data by the participants, including Raimonds Staprāns.

Museum opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00. Closed on Sunday, Monday.