Konstantin Zukhov, Black Carnations or A Gay History of Latvia
Sunday 05 Jun 2022 from 4pm to 5pm
Free entry
In English
Thirty years after Latvia decriminalised male homosexuality, Latvian artist Konstantin Zukhov continues to research and interpret the history of LGBTQ+ people in the Baltic country.
The Knights of the Black Carnation, same-sex marriages during the Second World War, the beaches of Riga as a Soviet cruising ground; these are some of the Latvian queer histories that everyone is invited to discover through the artist's eyes.
The title of the project refers to the name used for homosexuals in interwar Latvia and to the "Black Carnation Club" case, the first and only criminal case in interwar Latvia in which several men were accused of pederasty (homosexuality). While the first part of the project celebrated the black carnations of today, the aim of the second part is to investigate the history.
The title of the project refers to the name used for homosexuals in interwar Latvia and to the "Black Carnation Club" case, the first and only criminal case in interwar Latvia in which several men were accused of pederasty (homosexuality). While the first part of the project celebrated the black carnations of today, the aim of the second part is to investigate the history.