En:The rich traditions of working with amber stretch back for thousands of years in Latvia and laid the foundation for the famous Amber Road trade route, designated by the ancient Romans as one of the five major routes. Facing the future though – what does amber offer today within the geography of the ancient Amber Road? Riga Technical University scientist Dr. Inga Łasenko has transformed amber using new technologies; she is the creator of amber thread. At this exhibition, amber thread has been transformed into works of art by Iveta Vecenãne, a Latvian textile artist, having worked in the field for more than 20 years and participated in around a hundred group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad. The artist experimented with the visually unobtrusive amber thread – examining how it combines with other fibres, how it drapes in fabrics, which weaving methods work, and how it interacts with light. She is the first artist in the world to work with this new amber innovation, experimenting with its nature and integrating it with traditional textile fibres. The exhibition was created within the framework of the Riga 2014 European Capital of Culture programme.

Fr: Objet de culte aux vertus miraculeuses, porte-bonheur, l’ambre, sous toutes ses formes, traverse et unit les générations et continue d’inspirer artistes, scientifiques et compositeurs. Cette exposition met à l’honneur ce minéral qui reste l’une des principales richesses de la Lettonie dans l’une de ses formes les plus inédites, le fil d’ambre.

A l’origine de l’histoire et de l’utilisation de ce fil en Lettonie, l’ingéniosité du Dr. Inga Łasenko et le talent de l’artiste Iveta Vecenãne, deux passionnées de ce matériau unique qui fascine tous les publics.