INSTALLATION IS A STUDY OF THE CONTRADICTORY FIGURE OF SOVIET TIMES LITHUANIAN POETESS SALOMĖJA NĖRIS AND CONSISTS OF SEVERAL SEGMENTS IN PUBLIC SPACES:

1. SALOMĖJA NĖRIS PORTRAIT LIGHTBOX, 200X145X20 CM, ON THE CORNER BALCONY AT ISLANDIJOS STR. 2, OVERLOOKING THE PETRAS CVIRKA MONUMENT (SCULPTURE BY JUOZAS MIKĖNAS, 1959). (SCULPTURE REMOVED 2021, A WEEK PRIOR, GREBLIAUSKAITE DID A PROJECT "LETS NOT FORGET NOT TO REMEMBER" - COVERED MONUMENT WITH MOSS - SEE ARTWORKS).

2. SOUND INSTALLATION - A COMPILATION OF SALOMĖJA NĖRIS' POEMS BY GREBLIAUSKAITE, A 19-MINUTE AUDIO RECORDING, CONTINUOUSLY PLAYING 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM; NARRATED BY ACTRESS NELĖ SAVIČENKO, NEXT TO THE BUST OF SALOMĖJA NĖRIS (SCULPTURE BY VLADAS VILDŽIŪNAS, 1974), LOCATED NEXT TO S. NĖRIS GYMNASIUM, VILNIAUS STR. 32; BENCHES PLACED IN FRONT OF THE MONUMENT AFTER THE INSTALLATION, HARMONIZED WITH THE CITY AND REMAINED IN THE SQUARE.

3. MONIKA KALINAUSKAITĖ'S TEXT "SALOMA," A3 PRINT, "ELSKA COFFEE" CAFÉ, PAMĖNKLIO STR. 1.

THE CONTRADICTORY FIGURE OF SALOMĖJA NĖRIS, HER HISTORICAL CHARACTER EXPLORATION, INVOLVING THE CITY, ITS MONUMENTS, INSTITUTIONS, AND PEOPLE. ART SERVES AS A DEPOSITORY OF MEMORIES ABOUT ERAS. DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE WORK RAISE VARIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT S. NĖRIS' HISTORICAL AND CREATIVE LEGACY AND ITS IMPACT ON TODAY'S SOCIETY.

WITH THE STONE FIGURE OF PETRAS CVIRKA FLIRTING WITH THE POET'S PORTRAIT LIGHTBOX GAZE AND A SOUND INSTALLATION INSTALLED AT SALOMĖJA NĖRIS GYMNASIUM, IT INVITES A FRESH RECONSIDERATION AND EXPERIENCE OF HER HISTORICAL AND CREATIVE LEGACY AND THE COMPLEXITY OF EACH DECISION. ONE CAN ONLY SPECULATE WHAT BOTH CREATORS WOULD SAY TODAY, LOOKING AT EACH OTHER ACROSS A BUSY CITY INTERSECTION.

HOW AND WHY DO WE MAKE EXACTLY THOSE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE - AND SHOULD ARTISTS FEEL A DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITY WHEN ACCEPTING THEM?

"WHAT DO PEOPLE LOOK AT WHEN MAKING STRANGE DECISIONS? SOMETHING FIRM AND IRREFUTABLE, LIKE BENEFITS, OR RELIGIOUS AND SWEET, LIKE THEIR CHILDREN'S CHEEKS? WHAT GLASSES SHOULD ONE WEAR TO WRITE A POEM ABOUT SOMETHING SO DULL AND MERCILESS, LIKE A LEADER OR A SAUSAGE? WHAT DO THEY LOOK AT THEN? THEMSELVES, MIRRORS, DANGERS, DIRTY FLOORS? THIS IS NOT A QUESTION THAT POETS OR TEACHERS ANSWER. TODAY, THERE MAY BE A NEW BELOVED ONE OR AN OLD FACE, AND TOMORROW, HISTORICAL TROUBLE AND A PIT OF CRIME." - MONIKA KALINAUSKAITĖ. 

THE MATURITY OF SOCIETY IS DEMONSTRATED BY ITS ABILITY TO OBSERVE AND EVALUATE ITSELF. IT IS THE WORKS OF ART THAT TESTIFY TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT AND VISION OF THE SOCIETY THAT CREATED THEM. GEORGE ORWELL SAID THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DESTROY PEOPLE IS NOT TO GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR HISTORY.

ART SERVES AS A CACHE OF MEMORIES ABOUT ERAS AND CAN HELP TO DISTANCE FROM PRECONCEPTIONS AND PARTLY BECOME AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL TO LEARN FROM THE PAST.

S. NĖRIS' BIRTHDAY WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON HER AS A CREATOR AND A HERO OF PUBLIC FIGURE, AND THE ERA SHE CREATED, SO PAINFULLY AFFECTING THE FATE OF EVERY COUNTRY'S CITIZEN. TODAY, THE POET'S CASE GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS SELF-RESPECT AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS, FREEDOM OF SELF-DETERMINATION, FEAR AND COURAGE, FREEDOM AND ITS COST.

WHEN WILL WE BE READY NOT TO DESTROY OR HIDE THE REMNANTS OF HISTORY, OR TO SCOUR THEM SELECTIVELY, BUT TO PUT THE FACTS ON THE TABLE AND SIMPLY ACCEPT THEM AS FACTS, EVEN IF THEY ARE UNCOMFORTABLE? WHEN WILL WE BE READY FOR EACH ONE TO LEARN A LESSON FROM HISTORY AND FINALLY MOVE FORWARD - NOT FORGETTING, WATCHING OURSELVES? 

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