Aija Pole: From Gas to Solid

Aija Pole is a Latvian photographer born in Saldū, who now lives and works in Berlin. Aija's interest in the self-portrait as a prism through which the author's reactions to social and urban phenomena and events are interpreted without didactic connotations is reflected in the photographs taken in recent years. "From Gas to Solid" is the first collection of Aija's works in a book edited by the author and designer Aleksej Murashko. He also designed the book. The publication resembles a visual diary in which Aija recorded and made subjective notes about the role of her personal feelings in the time-space of today's society. Self-portraits allow her to encounter and delve into her own thoughts, ideas, theories and territories without hiding them, treating them with suspicion or prohibitions. The author explains the nature of the project very succinctly on the last page of the book: "This is a personal self-trial-and-error practice in the period from 2019 to 2023, appearing in front of the camera of your phone."