This project aims to explore the significance of various addresses around London that have played a role in the making and preservation of the independent state of Latvia, tracing back to 1918 and the first ever diplomatic residence abroad all the way to the building that housed an embassy of Latvia during the 46-year-long occupation of the USSR. To execute the project, archival images of the significant addresses have been used. To activate the importance of each address, images have been re-photographed and traced over, thus acknowledging elements in the urban fabric of London that embody a history of great importance to Latvia but are generally unknown by a daily passerby. Sets of images have been placed in a chronologically curated catalogue with an additional map and a route locating the addresses, encouraging the reader to take a physical walk through the route of independence.

The archival images are activated by highlighting the buildings and, if applicable, the people of significance captured in the photographs. The tracing over and highlighting with a bold colour allows the attention to be focused on the elements connected to the diplomatic narrative. This method, in an inverted manner, was originally used by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay in “Errata in retro-prospect”. Ariella used images from Israel's Declaration of Independence event on May 14, 1948, tracing over the symbolism and people of Israel, thus stating her view of opposition¹.

The re-photographed images have not been traced over but rather used as a tool of comparison, encouraging the reader to connect the buildings in current London to the hidden stories of the past.

Pairs of images have been placed in a chronologically curated catalogue. In addition to that, a short description of each address's significance is added next to the images. The chronological order, according to when the diplomatic events in each location took place, allows the reader to better understand the historical concept of each story represented. Therefore, the catalogue becomes an abstract diplomatic route map. Additionally, a literal map with all the location is added at the beginning of the catalogue, creating a non-abstract route.

When activated, the images of the multiple addresses of political significance tell a long story of a country’s independence through a concise visual approach rather than a lengthy history book article.