Live 6-hour opening performance of ‘Simbioze 2.0 Kefirsstudio’, RAA Gallery, Riga, LV
Commissioned to develop the workshop week performance art prior to the exhibition in the city
Large scale window installation at RAA Gallery
Custom-developed white mixture
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“Presence in Absence” is a research series by conceptual and performance artist Lisette Ros that she started in Mexico-City with ‘The Absence of Metamorphosis’ in 2023. She focuses on the perceptible act of presence in absence by examining ‘The Absent Body’.
PERFORMANCE PIECE TWO
“Presence in Absence” Piece two is the second live performance open to public as part of this research and conceptual exploration.
For this site-specific edition, the building’s expansive windows become both canvas and medium. In preparation of the work, a custom-developed white mixture including kefir is applied to cover the windows completely. From within, the space is obscured; from outside, passersby may not initially perceive anything unfolding. Over time, after the mixture is hardened, the performance starts. Ros literally opened-up the space, as she slowly scrapes away the mixture with bare nails, revealing shifting perspectives on presence and absence while blurring the boundaries between intervention, everyday action, and performance.
This durational process—both conceptual and physical—will leave behind an evolving installation, as the scraped material accumulates in the space, forming traces of absence and emergence.
The group exhibition inside displayed other art works created by participants of the ‘Your Time’ workshop week by Lisette Ros, held in August 2025 in the raw nature landscapes of Skujene, LV.
Lisette Ros was commissioned to develop and lead the performance art workshop week as part of ‘Simbioze 2.0’, August 2025 in the nature site of Skujene, LV. Her new workshop ‘Your Time’ evolved from this commission. Find a compilation of her workshop week at the WORKSHOPS webpage.
Some of Ros’ participants exhibited their works at RAA Gallery, November 2025 in Riga, LV, translating elements of the nature setting into urban setting under Ros’ mentorship.
Photos by Anicskovics
© Kristine Petrovska
© Lisette Ros