ARTIST EGLĖ GRĖBLIAUSKAITĖ PRESENTS AN ART INTERVENTION "THE GREEN THAT SHOULD NOT BE SEEN" IN PETRAS CVIRKA SQUARE IN VILNIUS. WHO IS "THE GREEN ONE"? WHY CAN'T WE SEE IT? IS IT A GHOST? WHAT ARE GHOSTS? IF WE CAN'T SEE THEM, DO THEY NOT EXIST? WHY DO THEY SOMETIMES APPEAR? IS IT ENOUGH TO REMOVE THE SIGNS OF THE PAST IN PUBLIC SPACE IN ORDER TO GET RID OF THE MINDSET AND HABITS INHERITED FROM THE SOVIET ERA?
FILM (BY EGLĖ GRĖBLIAUSKAITĖ AND ANDRIUS SELIUTA VON RATH) IS A DOCUMENTATION OF THE DRAMA OF THE MOSSING UP AND MOSSING DOWN OF THE MONUMENT THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE SQUARE IN ONE DAY IN 2021. ON THAT OCCASION, EGLĖ GRĖBLIAUSKAITĖ'S TOGETHER WITH AGNE GINTALAITE ARTISTIC ACTION LET'S NOT FORGET NOT TO REMEMBER – COVERING THE MONUMENT WITH MOSS – INVITED US TO RETHINK OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MONUMENT AND THE METHODS BY WHICH HISTORICAL NARRATIVES ARE SHAPED AND CONTESTED; THE ARTISTS INVITED US TO TALK ABOUT OUR HISTORY NOT BY SIMPLY ERASING ITS SIGNS IN THE CITY, BUT BY CHANGING THEM WITH THE LANGUAGE OF ART.
THE MUNICIPALITY FIRST ALLOWED THEIR EVENT AND THEN IMMEDIATELY BANNED IT, GIVING THE REASON THAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD NOT SEE 'THE GREEN' - THAT IS, THE MOSS ON THE MONUMENT. TODAY'S ARTISTIC ACTION IN CVIRKA SQUARE IS INTENDED TO DRAW THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION TO CULTURAL POLICY AS A TOOL OF POLITICAL POWER. THE FILM REVEALS THE HEAVY-HANDED TACTICS OF THE MUNICIPALITY THAT SEEMS TO BE A LEGACY FROM THE SOVIET ERA, OR PERHAPS A NEWLY ACQUIRED DESIRE TO REGULATE AND CONTROL ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND TO RESTRICT CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE THAT BRINGS UP UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS.
FOR THE PRESENT INSTALLATION, THE MUNICIPALITY IMPOSED INSURMOUNTABLE CONDITIONS ON THE PLANNED SCREENING IN THE SQUARE, THEREFORE THE SCREENING WILL BE HOSTED BY PAMĖNKALNIS GALLERY, PAMĖNKALNIO STREET 1.
THE VIDEO-PERFORMANCE IS ACCOMPANIED BY A SET: A LAYER OF MOSS THAT BRIEFLY COVERED THE CVIRKA MONUMENT IN 2021, WHICH NO ONE WAS ALLOWED TO SEE AT THE TIME, HAS NOW BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A GREEN GHOST. IT IS ALSO LIKE THE FLIP SIDE OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT IS ABOUT TO APPEAR IN ANOTHER SQUARE IN VILNIUS, WHICH IN RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY "LUXURIOUS". THE CIRCLE OF LAMBS HUDDLED AROUND IT - COULD THIS BE THE SUGAR SWEETS THAT THE CHARACTERS IN CVIRKA'S SHORT STORY NEVER GOT TO? THEY ALSO REMIND US OF A NAIVE DETACHMENT, A QUEST FOR COSINESS AND CLARITY, OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY A RELUCTANCE TO PROBE IMPORTANT HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES, WHICH ENCOURAGES PASSIVITY IN SOCIETY.
PUBLIC ART IS NOT ABOUT DECORATING STREETS AND SQUARES, ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS OR CHRISTMAS KITSCH. BUT IT IS NOT "URBAN CLUTTER" EITHER. ART DOES NOT HAVE TO PLEASE EVERYONE. THE TASK OF ART IS TO USE VISUAL LANGUAGE TO TRANSCEND ESTABLISHED BOUNDARIES, TO TAKE US OUT OF THE EVERYDAY AND THUS TO ASK IMPORTANT AND DIFFICULT QUESTIONS, TO INVITE US TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS, TO INVITE US TO SEE MORE THAN WE SEE ON THE SURFACE. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR A FREE AND MATURE SOCIETY THAT IS NOT AFRAID OF ITS HISTORY.
CURATOR AND AUTHOR OF THE TEXT PAULINA PUKYTĖ
