Jana Brike

 was born in the tiny country of Latvia, under soviet occupation. My young mind was affected by such diverse influences as: by miraculous folklore fairytales, children book illustrations, imaginative soviet animation films and supernaturally real classical painting; by the colorful forbidden rare secret imagery of the western pop culture, surrounded by mystical, almost religious tone; by the terrifying war and deportation stories that my grandparents, and their little brothers and sister witnessed as small children; by pompous alienated eerie atmosphere of the catholic church ceremonies, and the breathtakingly beautiful ballet performances in the opera house, where I was taken since the age of two etc. – all the bitter-sweetness and irreality of the every day. And all these feelings still creep into my art.