− Last night I was dreaming of being completely naked in public, people were everywhere, dressed of course and I was naked.
− Really?
− Yes. You know, I was trying to cover myself but nothing changed, I was still naked.
− Yes, it happens to me too quiet often… Me, I’ve dreamt that Death came to me.
− Wow. How was it?
− Funny. He/Death climbed through the window to my room, sat on my sofa and asked for a drink. I don’t know what this means. Does it mean I will live forever?
(both laughing)
− Perhaps. You remember that dream I told you about once? About the sign.
− Yes, I remember. I just have a feeling that today we more and more live in our dreams.
− I don’t know, I just keep dreaming it.
− What? The sign?
− The same dream when I saw the sign: I am standing on the mountain, the mountain is blue, everywhere is blue, and that feeling that I lost something, something, daughter or somebody. I have this feeling of a loss. I look to a sky, in the sky is a sign, it is alive, as a living organism, like flesh, all alive, sometimes seeming to occur in the form of a vagina. I stand amazed of where I am and what I see, but still a feeling of loosing something.
The sign looked like – from one side the letter C – one curve and from the other side its reflection, both of these shapes mirroring each other while moving. Down below I see the city, abandoned city, maybe more ruins of it, remains and traces of the city that was there. Further I see mountains and wrinkles of mountains, smoke coming from those wrinkles.
− You know, what is weird, that in my dream Death looked liked me. I asked the death about it and he answered: “how should I look like? I am your death.”
− When I woke up I started to see the sign everywhere: in the roots of the trees, in the caves, in the bodies, everywhere.
− Do you think, he/Death will come to me again?
− Maybe.
From 16 April until 14 May an exhibition “Lines and Wrinkles. Dreams of the Living and Delusions of the Dead” by Jurga Barilaitė is open for live viewing at „Atletika“ gallery. A virtual version of this exhibition was presented in the format of an online publication at the end of 2020. Together with visual and sound elements the exhibition will be complemented by a printed publication, available on site.
“Lines and Wrinkles” is the second part of an ongoing project “Dreams of the Living and Delusions of the Dead” developed by Barilaitė. The earlier research material was presented as an exhibition “Bones and Sediments” at the Artifex Gallery in 2019, while the final part of the research, titled “Weapons and Hideouts”, is to be presented at the end of this year.
Jurga Barilaitė (b. 1972 in Vilnius) studied painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts between 1990–1996, since 1996 she has been actively participating in contemporary art field. Barilaitė creates videos, performances and installations using a wide range of means of expression. She often explores the topic of a woman’s identity and her role in society, using her body in her works. Barilaitė’s works have been acquired by the Lithuanian National Gallery, Mo Museum and art collectors in Lithuania, Germany, Sweden, Austria, France, Latvia and elsewhere.
Exhibition opening dates: 16 April – 14 May 2021, Wednesdays to Saturdays 4–7 pm.
A continuous action of “blue cord” drawings will take place throughout all day on 16 and 17 April.
“Atletika” gallery, Vitebsko 21, Vilnius (www.atletikaprojects.lt).
Curator/exhibition architect: Marija Repšytė
Science consultant: Dr. Karolis Tamošiūnas
Designer: Gailė Pranckūnaitė
With thanks to everyone who contributed to this project: Danas Aleksa, Agilė Mažonaitė, Lija Markūnaitė, Mikas Jarašiūnas, Diana Barnard, Gabrielė Gervickaitė.
Thanks to Vytautas Budzejus for technical equipment.
Organiser: Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association
Partner: Alytus Biennial https://www.alytusbiennial.com/
Activities of Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association supported by Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality.
Documentation
Photos: Laurynas Skeisgiela