For three nights, Town Hall Square will host an emotionally saturated light and sound installation "Love and War" by Danish artists.The installation provides a new perspective on the war in Ukraine, focusing not on weapons and strategies, but on the human stories that remain behind the current news headlines. The artwork is based on interviews conducted during artist Jakob Fälling's trip to Lviv and Kiev in autumn 2023.
The installation portrays six ordinary Ukrainians and their life stories during the war, answering the question "how has the war affected their relationships with the people they love the most?" The work is both tragic and hopeful, funny and serious at the same time. The life stories of the people interviewed are told through more than 120 drawings and animations, accompanied by stories in Latvian.
The author comments on the installation: "The theme of this artwork is love. The news are full of stories about battle tactics, weapon donations and politics about Ukraine. Yet rarely do we get a glimpse of what it is like to live in such circumstances. That is what I asked Halina, Alexander, Marina, Roman and Yulia. More specifically, I asked them how the war has affected their closest relationships with those they love the most. It's a very simple question that I think everyone could resonate with. I hope you will find their answers meaningful. And that you will keep asking."
The installation is designed in such a way that viewers can start watching it at any time, as it is shown in a continuous loop lasting about 20 minutes. The drawings in the projections are made in real time in Ukraine, depicting real places and real people.