Uncoverings. The Search for Identity in Lithuanian Photography
Open until 3 March, 2023
One of the largest presentations of Lithuanian photography continues to travel and will be opened at the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art on 3 August. Exhibition „Uncoverings. The Search for Identity in Lithuanian Photography“ has already been presented at the Hanmi museum in Seoul in 2021 and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in 2022.
According to the curators of the exhibition Ugnė Marija Makauskaitė and Justina Augustytė, the exhibition aims to acquaint its visitors not only with the history of Lithuanian photography, but with Lithuanian history at large. ‘For this reason, the main topic of the exhibition revolves around the aspect of identity as a tool to understand the oeuvre of presented artists. The exhibition itself consists of three parts that follow both chronological and thematic guidelines: ‘Identity as Reality’, ‘Identity as an Object’ and ‘Identity as a Concept’. Although the timeframe remains obscure, each part is primarily focused on main aspects of each period,’ say the curators.
Historical context, the major historical events and politics of the state that affected not only artistic creation and its dissemination, but also the dynamic world of individuals, is extremely important here. The story created by the curators is subjective and offers only one of the many ways to get acquainted with Lithuanian photography. It does not avoid contradictions and inconsistencies, but aims only to widen the polylogue between the works and allow unexpected but eloquent connections to arise.
The exhibition presents works from the rich and continuously growing collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, supplemented by works borrowed from artists. In order to reflect the development of Lithuanian photography, the exhibition includes works by artists from different periods – from the almost canonical, iconic photographs of the so-called national “gold mine” to the works of the young generation of emerging artists. Lithuanian photography is a polyphonic story. The boundaries of its periods and trends overlap and intertwine. Therefore, the exhibition, although based on a chronological structure, aims not so much to systematically and consistently recreate the history of the photography of the country, but to convey the diversity of voices and the medium which was (and still is) used by artists who significantly contributed to the formation of the perception of identity (national, communal, individual) and also offered future trajectories for identity.
Presented artists: Antanas Sutkus, Romualdas Rakauskas, Aleksandras Macijauskas, Algimantas Kunčius, Vitas Luckus, Romualdas Požerskis, Rimaldas Vikšraitis, Vaclovas Straukas, Romas Juškelis, Virgilijus Šonta, Violeta Bubelytė, Gintautas Trimakas, Algirdas Šeškus, Remigijus Treigys, Alfonsas Budvytis, Gintaras Zinkevičius, Laura Garbštienė, Akvilė Anglickaitė, Dovilė Dagienė, Tadas Kazakevičius, Geistė Kinčinaitytė, Vytautas Kumža. The majority of exhibits courtesy of Lithuanian National Museum of Art. Exhibits are lent by artists and „The Rooster Gallery“.
Curators: Ugnė Marija Makauskaitė, Justina Augustytė
Designer Loreta Uzdraitė
Organiser the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art
33 Liepu st, LT-92145, Klaipėda, Lithuania
++370 46 410 412
domsaicio.galerija@lndm.lt
