Louise Rieger: Anemoia

Louise Rieger presents her showcase, ‘Anemoia’, bringing  together a striking collection of oil paintings that explore memory, time, and a haunting sense of longing for the past.

The title, Anemoia, refers to a nostalgic desire for a time one has never actually known. Rieger’s work dives deep into this feeling, drawing inspiration from 1960s, 70s, and 80s Polaroid photographs, home movies, and found family snapshots. Rather than depicting history with strict accuracy, her paintings capture the “afterimage” of a bygone era—reimagining domestic interiors, everyday social scenes, and working-class life through a palette of softened browns, ochres, purples, and warm oranges.

By intentionally leaning into the visual quirks of vintage photography—such as overexposure, framing errors, blurs, and fading—Rieger highlights the very technology that recorded these moments. Several reference photos are often woven together into a single composition, creating scenes that feel intensely familiar, yet strangely unreachable.

“Knowing who the subjects are isn’t important,” says artist Louise Rieger. “The images are chosen to tell familiar stories. They are cultural memories encouraging a cultural retrospection… I am interested in describing a feeling of absence and a particular form of longing. Not for the past or something lost, but for something that was never fully there. My paintings are a way of making this absence visible.”

Rooted in concepts like philosopher Mark Fisher’s “ghosts of lost futures,” Anemoia invites visitors to reflect on how old photographs actively shape both personal and collective memories.

About the Artist
Louise Rieger is a UK-based oil painter whose practice focuses on memory, nostalgia, and the persistence of the past in contemporary life. Her work frequently incorporates vintage photographic references to examine how images construct personal and cultural identities.

Website: louiserieger.com
Instagram: @louise.rieger.artist