Yana Raaga
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2024 – State of the World
Curatorial Selection – Hearts praying for kidnapped
In photography I usually don’t have a strict plan; I follow my heart and allow the unexpected to happen. I don’t think in advance like, “I will go there at a certain time to shoot a certain place.” I think, “I will go there to see and discover the place, the people, the event. And to know something new.”
At those moments my camera is like my extension. As human beings we are limited in what we see and how we see it. For this purpose the camera is an absolutely fantastic technical tool that helps us to explore the world. Just think how much humanity knows about the world thanks to photography, and what an interesting way we know about all those things thanks to photographers.
Mostly I shoot nature, because I live close to nature. In Latvia, where I live, people know me as a landscape photographer. But when I travel, when I’m in the city, among the hustle and bustle, I find it interesting to observe the people – how they express themselves, how they interact with the environment, what kind of environment they create, and how later they live and feel in the created space.
Years ago I studied design; that’s why visual language is clear to me. I think it is convenient not only for staying in touch or gathering the information, but also for sharing stories and point of view.
I love this world and I love real life. Real life never is perfect. It’s an amazing and unpredictable mess.
I go out with my camera to discover the unknown, to know a bit more about the world I live in. For me it’s like the try to crack the code and understand how the world works, how everything existing is connected.
I have many questions about this world, and photography gives me the right to guess possible answers and to fix them in a visual format.
I can say I feed my curiosity and feelings. When I see something and feel a response in my heart, I push the button. That’s my photography.
When I learnt about “State of the World”, I remember I thought, “That is the key. In a couple of words, the main idea of photography is said.”
So many things happen at the current moment in the world. There are so many photographers, and we all have our own visual experiences, and we all are in different places with our cameras. But whatever we shoot is about the state of the world, about the current condition, because everything is constantly changing. That day I thought—it is interesting; I should submit one of my works.
Shortly before I decided to participate in the competition, I returned from Amsterdam. So my impression of what I saw there still was strong. During my stay in Amsterdam I saw activists who brought to the main square footwear, heart-shaped balloons, and posters with information about Israeli women, children, and families kidnapped by Hamas. It was a campaign to support victims of terrorism.
I saw people who geographically were far from the horrible crime, but they were in close spiritual connection to those who faced perhaps the greatest tragedy of their lives. I felt the huge inner power that drove these people. I saw that humans are able to feel another’s pain from a distance. They prayed for safety and lives.
Kidnapped From Israel project was widespread across six continents. This campaign became one of the most widespread guerrilla public artworks in history. I am glad to see my photographs about this campaign and my name among the “State of the World” winners. Thank you.