RSU Anatomy Museum exhibition explores the line between beauty and ugliness

An exhibition titled "Kas ir tas, ko redzu?" ("What is it that I see?") by artist Linda Jākobsone-Viškere has opened at the Anatomy Museum of Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). The show will remain open to visitors until the end of October this year.

The exhibition centers on the study of human perception – how each viewer individually interprets the same visual imagery. In her works, the artist deliberately plays with the fragile and shifting boundary that separates the ugly from the beautiful.

Different experiences of the same work

A notable feature of the exhibition is its ability to provoke completely different associations in different viewers. Looking at the artist's works, one person might perceive wounds, bones or internal organs – images associated with the fragility and anatomy of the human body. For another viewer, the very same elements might evoke something entirely different, such as flowers.

This contradictory perception is not seen as a flaw of the exhibition but rather as its purpose – to demonstrate how subjective and individual visual perception truly is, and how fluid the boundary can be between what people consider beautiful and what stirs discomfort or unease in them.

The exhibition's venue – the Anatomy Museum – adds further context to the works, since the space itself is already linked to the study of human anatomy, with bones and organs displayed for educational purposes. Within this environment, the artworks gain an additional dimension by interacting with the surrounding scientific context.

The exhibition will remain accessible to the public for several months, giving anyone interested the chance to discover for themselves exactly what they see in Jākobsone-Viškere's works – and whether that experience matches the impressions of other visitors.