Akmentiņi
Water Sculpture
Publisher: VARES
Design: Katrīna Marta Riņķe
Water Sculpture
Publisher: VARES
Design: Katrīna Marta Riņķe
VARES ir jaunu arhitektu veidota rezidence Valgā, Igaunijā, kas atrodas blakus nelielai upītei bez nosaukuma. Bijušas skolas ēkas telpās, vasaras un ziemas skolas projektos un rezidencēs VARES rada vietu iedvesmai, pārdomām, iztēlei un arhitektūras pārdomāšanai – dažkārt izvēloties neko nebūvēt vai arī pievēršoties lēnai un apdomātai celtniecības pieejai.
Akmentiņu spēles dizainere ir Katrīna Marta Riņķe, spēļu teorijas konsultante Elīna Valdmane, grafiskā dizainere Maria Muuk, tulkotāja (ENG/EE) Merilin Kaup, tehniskais atbalsts VARES, arhitekts Artūrs Tols.
Projektu “Slapjās ainavas” atbalsta Igaunijas Kultūrkapitāls, Igaunijas Kultūras ministrija, Valkas pašvaldība, Valgas pašvaldība, Tartu 2024 Eiropas Kultūras galvaspilsēta, TYPA un Very Berry.
ENG
The game was created as part of the VARES architecture residency project “Liquid Landscapes” The project, held in June 2025, explored water terrains in the Valga region, interpreting public space and examining how water shapes land – and how land, in turn, shapes water.
VARES is an architect-run residency in Valga, Estonia, located next to a small unnamed stream. Within the walls of a former school building, through summer and winter school projects and residencies, VARES fosters a space for inspiration, gentle reflection, invention, and the rethinking of architecture – at times, choosing not to build at all or in other words - encouraging slow and deliberate approaches to building.
Pebble game designer Katrīna Marta Riņķe, mathematics game theory consultant Elīna Valdmane, graphic designer Maria Muuk, translator (ENG/EE) Merilin Kaup, technical support VARES, arhitekts Artūrs Tols. The project is supported by the Estonian Capital of Culture, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, Valka Municipality, Valga Municipality, Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture, TYPA, Very Berry.
VARES is an architect-run residency in Valga, Estonia, located next to a small unnamed stream. Within the walls of a former school building, through summer and winter school projects and residencies, VARES fosters a space for inspiration, gentle reflection, invention, and the rethinking of architecture – at times, choosing not to build at all or in other words - encouraging slow and deliberate approaches to building.
Pebble game designer Katrīna Marta Riņķe, mathematics game theory consultant Elīna Valdmane, graphic designer Maria Muuk, translator (ENG/EE) Merilin Kaup, technical support VARES, arhitekts Artūrs Tols. The project is supported by the Estonian Capital of Culture, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, Valka Municipality, Valga Municipality, Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture, TYPA, Very Berry.
VARES RESIDENCY PROPOSAL:
“Water is not still. It reshapes land, dissolves borders, and writes its own history.
I am an artist working at the intersection of technology, landscape, and materiality, drawn to the ephemeral and shifting nature of water. My practice explores how organic processes, human intervention, and time shape the environment, often through alternative photographic techniques and experimental installations. The Liquid Landscapes residency offers a unique setting to expand my research on water’s imprint on memory and space while engaging with Valga’s fluid terrain.
For the residency, I propose an interdisciplinary project exploring the relationship between water, image-making, and impermanence. Through site-specificinterventions and photographic experiments, I aim to document Valga’s liquid topographies—not as fixed landscapes but as evolving narratives.
My process would involve:
Analog & Experimental Photography – Capturing images of Valga’s waterways using handmade photographic emulsions, developed with river water or natural elements, allowing the landscape itself to shape its own representation.
Ephemeral Installations – Creating temporary light projections, series of drawings or sculptural works responding to Valga’s hydrological rhythms—revealing the invisible traces left by fluctuating water levels.
Community Engagement & Field Research – Mapping personal and historical stories of Valga’s wetlands through collected oral histories, found materials, and environmental observations.
This project aligns with the residency’s vision by rethinking the relationship between land and water, permanence and transience, control and adaptation. Rather than framing wetlands as obstacles to urban space, I seek to amplify their presence through poetic, visual storytelling, reinforcing their role as living, breathing landscapes.
The closing event will serve as a platform to share findings through an open studio, a participatory workshop, or a site-responsive installation, inviting the public to experience the ever-changing nature of water through an artistic lens.
I am eager to engage with VARES’ interdisciplinary community, exchange ideas with fellow residents, and experiment within Valga’s unique environment. The town’s borderland identity, hydrological complexity, and layered histories provide an inspiring foundation for a project that merges ecology, materiality, and image- making, emphasizing water as both a subject and collaborator in artistic practice.
Thank you for considering my application—I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to Liquid Landscapes and immerse myself in Valga’s shifting terrains.“