Parodos
Reprise
Ignas Kazakevičius. REPRISE
2012-05-22
In May, 2012, the exhibition „Reprise“, organised by Klaipeda culture communication center was held at the SABA art centre of The Iranian Academy Of Arts. Initiators and curators of the exhibition – Ignas Kazakevičius and Iranian artist Hojat Amani presented Lithuanian contemporary art for the first time on the 1st of May. The installation of both artists „Total equality“ closed it`s international tour after being presented in 4th Moscow (Russia) art bienial, special projects part and Luleo biennial (Sweden) in 2011. There were exhibited personal artworks of each participating artist as well. Visitors of the SABA center could see B.Neverdauskienė`s “1000 stories” based on Persian carpet deconctruction and M.Zaltausikaite – Grasiene`s cycles “Breathing” and “Generations”.
In Brone`s artwork the layout of patterns on the carpet has been divided into segments. In each segment, a certain pattern has been enlarged. As if to confirm the domination of the latter, it has been transferred onto spheres. Among a zillion of patterns, only a few, those most revealing of Oriental symbolism, the most contrasting and emotionally sharp, have been given the spatial shine. The monotony of the carpet’s surface has been broken by the motifs of patterns transferred onto the spheres. The rhythm has acquired form. The mirage has materialised. The artist has masterfully combined apparently contradictory things: the absolute, undisputable classics and a textural puzzle, exotics and meditative pop culture, hedonist associations and square meters of a contemporary paradise.
Monika presented turn from photographic naturalism and the soft viscous surface of textile, she sometimes reveals an even too straightforward truth about the human body, which so often becomes a cultural fetish or icon in art. For example, faces in the Generation series express first of all the human change between old and young, and only then it is possible to infer the story of a specific family). Otherwise, the attention is focused on the structure of the enlarged and revealed details of neutral colours, which can and have to convey more abstract phenomena and, most importantly, visualise the senses –thus we see the body (skin) becoming ‘so close’ an object too erotic and sensuous for it to be somebody else’ body; that’ when it becomes one’ own. The most recent work by this artist, Breathing (2009), like her many other works, links the foundations of photography and textile. Yet here, it is not enough to enlarge a tiny detail: the image we see is perceived as an especially wide view, like a wide-screen rectangle in cinema. Thus the story of a wonderful moment (a newborn baby rising from water, ready to breath in) becomes an aesthetic expression of one of the most powerful emotions.
The installation Total Equality emphasises the human inclination to squeeze their own and others’ lives into clichés. Therefore, the propaganda of universal equality regardless of gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation or social status, carried out by the media, is fairly ironic, because it does not reflect reality. Led by their nature – the desire to be, to survive, to dominate, people seek to avoid equality at any cost. With this project, authors state that, regardless of racial or national differences, we all bear labels that designate the fate of “decent people”, professional careerists, housewives or losers… According to art critic dr. Laima Kreivyte – “Each body is a sum of not only present, but also future possibilities. Yet we judge the prospects of these branded bodies by their surface and the labels attached by society. The most superficial, yet the most visible bodily features become a permanent tattoo of identity. We cannot get rid of these inscriptions on our bodies. Total Equality calls the viewers to fill the hollow bodies with the stories of their own and others’ lives”.
Initiators and curators of the exhibition – Ignas Kazakevičius and Iranian artist Hojat Amani presented Lithuanian contemporary art for the first time in Iran on the 1st of May.
Participating artists: Brone Neverdauskiene & Monika Zaltauskaite Grasiene
Curators: Ignas Kazakevicius (Lithuania) and Hojat Amani (Iran)
Organizers: Cultural Comunication Center (Klaipeda, Lithuania)
Support: Culture support fund, Lithuania
Contacts: Ignas Kazakevicius, ignas.kazakevicius@gmail.com
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