The Scene

The Scene

The Scene is a photographic exploration of Riga’s alternative youth subculture, which has grown from the underground music scene into a distinct cultural phenomenon in Latvia. The project focuses on concerts and the community that has formed around them, featuring bands such as Nikotīņi, Pauls Raimonds, and ŠŅK, and venues including Depo, Lastādija, and Republika.

This environment brings together punks, goths, hardcore music fans, and people who consciously avoid labels altogether. Music is only one part of the community – the project also explores a sense of belonging, creativity, and self-expression, while addressing issues of identity, mental health, and interpersonal conflict that resonate with young people. Clothing, body modifications, and gestures of resistance become means of self-definition and forms of protest against a world that the project’s participants feel they have little power to change.