"ON THE 12TH OF NOVEMBER 2021 THE CITY AUTHORITIES OF VILNIUS, THE CAPITAL OF LITHUANIA, FORCEFULLY REMOVED A CONTEMPORARY ART PERFORMANCE FOCUSING ON THE MONUMENT OF PETRAS CVIRKA, AN INFLUENTIAL WRITER IN SOVIET LITHUANIA.

THE MONUMENT, WHICH WAS LOCATED IN A CENTRAL SQUARE IN THE CITY CENTRE, HAS BEEN AT THE CENTRE OF CONTROVERSY SINCE 2017 AND IS SCHEDULED TO BE REMOVED IN DECEMBER 2021 AS PART OF THE MAYOR’S COMMITMENT TO CLEAR PUBLIC SPACES OF SOVIET HERITAGE.

LOCAL ARTISTS EGLE GREBLIAUSKAITE AND AGNE GINTALAITE WERE INITIALLY GRANTED PERMISSION BY CITY AUTHORITIES TO ORGANISE A PERFORMANCE WITH A TITLE "LET'S NOT FORGET NOT TO REMEMBER" INVOLVING CVIRKA’S MONUMENT, DURING WHICH THE MONUMENT WAS TO BE COVERED WITH MOSS.

THE ARTISTS EXPLAIN THAT BY USING MOSS, WHICH IS USED TO TREAT WOUNDS IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE, THEY HOPED TO CREATE A FORM OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TRAUMA OF THE SOVIET PAST, LEADING TO PACIFICATION AND HEALING, INVITING CITY RESIDENTS TO REFLECT ON THE FLOW OF TIME AND THE REMNANTS OF HISTORY. HOWEVER, AS THE BRONZE STATUE WAS BEING COVERED WITH A CARPET OF GREEN MOSS, THE CITY AUTHORITIES CHANGED THEIR MIND AND PROHIBITED THE EVENT. THE CITY COUNCIL STATED THAT THE INITIAL PERMISSION WAS ISSUED BY MISTAKE. NO ADDITIONAL COMMENT WAS PROVIDED WHY THE PROJECT WAS DEEMED UNSUITABLE. THE ARTISTS WERE PHYSICALLY PREVENTED FROM TAKING DOWN THE SCAFFOLDING AND MOSS, WHICH WERE REMOVED BY CITY SUBCONTRACTORS, AND ARE THREATENED WITH A FINE.

THE STATUE OF PETRAS CVIRKA (1909-1947) WAS CREATED BY THE ACCLAIMED LITHUANIAN SCULPTOR JUOZAS MIKĖNAS IN 1959. IT WAS UNDER PROTECTION AS CULTURAL HERITAGE UNTIL AUGUST 2021 WHEN IT WAS STRUCK FROM THE CULTURAL HERITAGE LIST AND SCHEDULED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE SQUARE. IT IS ONE OF THE LAST PUBLIC MONUMENTS TO SOVIET CULTURAL FIGURES IN LITHUANIA. VILNIUS HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE IN NOVEMBER 2021." - EGLE RINDZEVIČIŪTĖ

 

THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCE RULING AGAINST EGLĖ GRĖBLIAUSKAITĖ WAS ANNULLED AS UNLAWFUL AND UNJUSTIFIED BY THE RULING OF THE VILNIUS CITY DISTRICT COURT ON 02-03-2022, AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS WERE TERMINATED, AND IN THE ABSENCE OF THE PRESENCE OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCE ELEMENT IN THE ARTIST'S ACTIONS, THE SCULPTURE WAS DISMANTLED ON 19-11-2021.

ORIGINAL PERFORMATIVE THE IDEA OF THE WORK WAS BASED ON ANTHROPOLOGIST MARY DOUGLAS'S THEORY OF THE SOCIAL BODY, ACCORDING TO WHICH INSTITUTIONS ORGANISE SOCIETY
THROUGH THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN PURITY AND POLLUTION.

SYMBOLIC POLLUTION IS LINKED TO A THREAT TO THE STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY; "DIRTY" OBJECTS ENCROACH ON THE BOUNDARIES OF THEIR SECURITY. THE SEARCH FOR DIRT IS SOCIETY'S UNCONSCIOUS ATTEMPTS TO PRESERVE ITS SOCIAL BODY INTACT.

PETRAS CVIRKA'S SCULPTURE, WAS TO BE COVERED BY A LAYER OF MOSS AND SYMBOLICALLY RELEGATED TO THE PLACE OF THE WILLFUL OBLIVION. HISTORICAL MEMORY PERSISTS BUT THE HONOUR OF THE PAST DIMINISHES. THE MOSS, THUS TURNING THE MONUMENT INTO AN ANTIMONUMENT, A SIGN THAT PREVENTS THE FORGETTING TO REMEMBER.

ON 11 NOVEMBER 2021, VILNIUS RESIDENTS AND GUESTS WERE INVITED TO BECOME PART OF AN INTERACTIVE ARTWORK - THE CHARACTERS OF THE EVERYDAY LIFE PERFORMANCE DON'T FORGET DON'T FORGET IN P. CVIRKOS SQUARE. THE WORK WAS TO CONTINUE IN THE PUBLIC SPACE UNTIL 13 DECEMBER.

HOWEVER, THE COURSE OF THE PERFORMANCE WAS ALTERED BY THE UNPLANNED INTRUSION OF A NEW CHARACTER ON STAGE. THE VILNIUS CITY MUNICIPALITY, AFTER CONFIRMING IN WRITING ON 5 NOVEMBER THAT THE EVENT COULD BE ORGANISED, DEMANDED THAT THE EVENT BE CANCELLED ON 10 NOVEMBER, WHILE THE MOSS INSTALLATION WORK WAS IN PROGRESS. THE MUNICIPALITY, SECRETLY FROM THE ARTISTS, ORGANISED A PRESS CONFERENCE WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION'S REPRESENTATIVE, ADAM BRUŽINSKAS, FALSELY CLAIMED THAT THE WORK WAS ILLEGAL. MEANWHILE, DEPUTY MAYOR VLADAS BENKUNSKAS, SPEAKING TO THE PRESS, CALLED THE WORK NOT ART BUT HOOLIGANISM AND THE ARTISTS CIRCUS PERFORMERS. DESPITE THE LACK OF LEGAL GROUNDS, OFFICIALS WERE CALLED AND FINES WERE ISSUED. THE OWNERS OF THE SCAFFOLDING WERE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE THEIR SCAFFOLDING AWAY, THE POLICE OFFICERS THEY CALLED CONFIRMED THAT THE MUNICIPALITY COULD NOT PREVENT THEM FROM TAKING IT AWAY, BUT GINTARAS LEPERSKAS TOOK THEM ASIDE FOR A CHAT AND THE POLICE CHANGED THEIR MINDS. THUS, THE OFFICERS OBEYED THE MUNICIPALITY'S INSTRUCTIONS AND WERE PHYSICALLY PREVENTED FROM REMOVING THE SCAFFOLDING SO THAT, TO QUOTE THE MUNICIPALITY'S REPRESENTATIVE, GINTARAS LEPERSKAS, NO ONE WOULD SEE THE SCULPTURE COVERED IN MOSS. ON 12 NOVEMBER, THE INSTALLATION WAS DISMANTLED BY WORKERS FROM THE MUNICIPALITY'S COMPANY ,,GRINDA".

 

SUBSEQUENTLY, THE COURT ANNULLED THE MONETARY PENALTIES, AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE MISDEMEANOUR RULING ISSUED AGAINST EGLĖ GRĖBLIAUSKAITĖ BY THE VILNIUS CITY DISTRICT COURT ON 02-03-2022 (COMPLAINT NO. II-70-1123/2022; TRIAL NO. 4-68-3-02121-2021-2) WAS QUASHED AS UNLAWFUL AND UNJUSTIFIED, AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS WERE TERMINATED, AS THERE WAS NO ELEMENT OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE MISDEMEANOUR IN THE ARTIST'S ACTIONS.