Fotograf Magazine

Diana Tamane (born 1986), who is among the most striking artists of the young generation, has gathered renown well beyond her home region of the Baltics. Her book, which was nominated in the Best Debut category at Paris Photo, is an assemblage of the artist’s projects to date. The main character, i.e. the flower smuggler of the title, is the artist’s own grandmother, who once illegally crossed the Latvia–Russia border to honor the memory of her ancestors buried on the other side. Tamane’s images, which toy with the aesthetics of vernacular photography, describe – authentically and without cliches – the narrative of her own family, emphasizing the relationships between generations of women. Intimate and emotional, often almost toxic, yet always truthful, the images are a refreshing update to the format of the family album.