Places Called Home: Latvian Photographer Inta Ruka’s Exhibition Premieres at Fotografiska Tallinn
On March 14, Fotografiska Tallinn opens Places Called Home by Latvian photographer Inta Ruka. Ruka is an internationally recognized photographer who has held numerous solo exhibitions across Europe. Her work is included in several international museum and private collections. In 1999, Ruka represented Latvia at the Venice Biennale with a series that is also included in the exhibition at Fotografiska Tallinn.
Between 1983 and 2008, Ruka photographed people in her native Latvia, capturing their lives in homes, courtyards, and streets – places where everyday life unfolds. She returned to the same people over time, working slowly and allowing trust to develop. The resulting photographs are not merely documentary; they preserve places, relationships, and lived experiences from which a sense of belonging emerges.
“Through portraiture, Inta Ruka seeks to understand and convey each person’s unique identity and life story together with the time and environment in which they live. This is what makes her photographs so distinctive – they bring together documentary truth, authentic environments, and a strong artistic voice.”
The exhibition brings together two series: My Country People and Amālijas iela 5a (Amālija Street 5a). Together they form a quiet yet powerful narrative about Latvia during a time of transition and the people who call these places home.
Places Called Home makes its debut at Fotografiska Tallinn.
Header: Guntars Keišs 1984. My Country People © Inta Ruka