Between Two Waters
The city of Liepaja, Latvia, lies between the Baltic Sea and Liepaja Lake. As if between two water currents, Liepaja is lost in transition between two epochs: the Soviet times and the united Europe; the industrial town and the post-industrial place.
The project depicts Liepaja in spring 2013 when the steel producer Liepājas Metalurgs hit the headlines. The largest employer in Liepāja and the only metallurgical company in the Baltic states, which had been representing a source of identity and solidarity for Liepāja residents over the last 130 years, was on the verge of insolvency. The closing of industries has had a deep effect on workers, their families, entire towns. But not only the downsized workers have been asking questions about their future.
The transition to post-industrial society has greatly affected the lives of the younger generation, too. For them, the post-industrial era has offered many new opportunities; however, it has also brought new risks.
Furthermore, the economic changes have affected the labor market, as well as their education, relationships with family and friends. Today, millions of young Europeans between the ages of 15 and 29 are trying to find themselves in this world – they are looking for a job, a way out of the crisis, a place to call home.
2013
