Deva Bartninkaitė & Paulius Rukas:
Ever-passing present

Lithuanian Artists’ Association

Ever-passing present

Deva Bartninkaitė & Paulius Rukas

Curated by Evelina Januškaitė

Exhibition presents two Lithuanian artists, whose works are linked to the recording of the fading and intangible presentness. They explore concepts of temporality, memory, surface materiality through cultural and technological changes. Change is a constant part of human life: we remember, witness and experience all kinds of shifts, events and stories. Every change has its consequences, leaving traces – both material and mental in our visuality and perception.

Deva Bartninkaitė explores the VHS era, which has had a profound impact on people's daily lives, from the opportunity to see and experience other cultures, to film collections, or the ability to capture and record personal moments in life. However, the strong tide has quickly receded with the advent of more convenient means of recording and viewing video. Now, to a large extent, cassettes remain just a nostalgic object. But this invention, which has brought about major changes in people's daily lives, has made it possible to capture memory in yet another medium. The installation of Deva Bartninkaitė consists of pieces that use the fusion of linen fibre and VHS magnetic tape in weaving technology. An infinite amount of visual information is recorded, which remains inaccessible but transformed into another visual surface.

The exhibition also presents an installation of Paulius Rukas, consisting of processual and interactive instant exposure photographs and soil objects, which artist develops in his ongoing In situ series. The artist's work focuses on the reflection of place through the prism of analogue photography, which compared to digital photography, is characterised by a slower, deliberate process that requires concentration and attention to detail and the passage of time. Meanwhile artist aims to express the documentation of a changing and ever-passing "time and situation", engaging the viewer in quite clear sequences of display, but with unintended consequences.

Bartninkaitė and Rukas' works are dominated by an exploration of memory and recollection, creating a subtle metaphorical documentation of changing present through (in)visible images of the past and a deconstruction of the process of recording them. The VHS tapes used in the textile works convey memories and visual information that is no longer accessible but still exists as a potential story or narrative. Rukas explores memory by capturing places "in situ", while photographs grasps ephemeral moments and vanishing contexts. Presented artists use their artwork as a way to capture, preserve and interpret memory, exploring how the shifts of time affect our perception of the ever-passing present.

Paulius Rukas (b. 1977) – Lithuanian artist who explores cultural identity, interaction of space and time, aesthetics of materiality and historical memory. His work encompasses geopolitical and social themes such as migration, grounding, a sense of place specificity, which is manifested through site-specificity and objects in various forms, from black clay sculptures to photographs. The contextuality of surroundings is evident in his work: his 'space parasitisation' projects use local soil to highlight the specificity of a particular place, while his experimental photography, inspired by in situ variations, explores themes of time flow and its documentation.

Deva Bartninkaitė (b. 1997) – Lithuanian artist of the younger generation, living and working in Vilnius. In 2022 she received her Bachelor's degree in Textile Art and Design from Vilnius Academy of Arts, continuing her MA studies in the same programme. Since 2019 she has been participating in exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad. Some of them: Sonnenfinsternis | Solar Eclipse, a duo exhibition with German artist Matthias Lutzeyer, Galerie am Klostersee, Lehnin, Germany (2024); Zoetrope II, a group exhibition with artists Sinaima Kontaute and Marija Žiemyte, VDA Gallery "Akademija", Vilnius, Lithuania (2024); YTAT'22 Triennial of Young Textile Artists, City Art Gallery, Łódź, Poland (2022). In her creative practice, artist uses VHS tapes and linen fabrics to explore how past technologies and documented memories are transformed into new art forms.

Organizer: gallery „Arka“ (Vilnius, LT)

Partner: Helsinki Artists‘ Association

Support: LATGA foundation, Lithuanian Artists‘ Association, Vilnius Municipality

Design: Lukas Stanionis