Exhibition of the International Art Residence Biruchiy-Borowiec

LIUBLINO TRIKAMPIS

Люблiнський трикутник/ Trójkąt Lubelski/Lublin Triangle

War. Meaningless absurdity, an unacceptable, distant abstraction, which had been rejected by consciousness, suddenly turned into reality… War disperses families, takes away homes, loved ones, and the future. It brings together those who might never have met in a peaceful life and forces nations with similar historical experiences to unite.

As the 16th century Moscow’s aggressive policy towards neighboring countries led to the emergence of the Republic of the Two Nations (the treaty was signed in Lublin in 1569), so in the progressive 21st century, the war that invaded our blissful world of personal problems has returned us, Ukrainians, Poles, and Lithuanians, living in Russia’s neighborhood, to the situation of those times, reminding us of the experience of historical partnership and mutual aid in the face of an existential threat. Only by going together do we have a chance to survive and stand against a much stronger enemy.

In 2020, the initiative of the Lublin Triangle at the state level expressed our desire for mutual aid, military, political, and cultural cooperation, and the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity (LIUBLIN TRIANGLE is a trilateral regional alliance of political, economic, cultural and social cooperation between Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, aimed at strengthening the dialogue between these countries, at supporting  Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO, and at countering Russia’s aggression against Ukraine).

The initiator of the Lublin Triangle residence was Genadiy Kozub, a long-standing  organizer of contemporary art residencies that operated on Biruchiy Island, Crimea, and are highly regarded in the Ukrainian art world. After the annexation of Crimea, the Biruchiy residence was forcibly moved to the west, where, starting from  2016, the artistic and international cooperating activities could be carried on. The projects of the residence show that art is a very important tool for analysis of historical memory, decolonization processes, as well as for human compassion and support.

In May 2024, various artists from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania were invited to the Biruchiy-Borowiec art residence near Lublin with the aim of seeking a mutual dialogue, sharing reflections on common/similar historical experiences, current experiences, reflections of past and future visions. During the residency, works were created, reflecting on contemporary existence from different angles/approaches.

The exhibition features the interdisciplinary artist duo – Daniil Revkovskiy and Andrii Rachynskiy, who represented Ukraine at the current Venice Biennale.

Having received an offer to gather a group of Lithuanian artists and participate in a joint cultural event with the Ukrainian and Polish artists, I eagerly agreed without hesitation. I am sure that no matter how quiet the artist’s voice may be amid the thunder of cannons, we must speak in every action that the invasion of one country into another sovereign state must not be accepted as a norm. This fact should not dissolve in the multitude of newspaper headlines.

Many Lithuanians take hard the war in Ukraine – the experience of the Soviet era and liberation from it is still alive. Almost every family still remembers the deportations of grandparents, close relatives, and repressions. We are still able to feel the tragedy experienced by Ukrainians through the personal experience of our families.

However, only after meeting the Ukrainian artists presenting an open documentary of the war in Ukraine and other works, inspired by the everyday context, at the current Venice Biennale, did I comprehend that our imagination of the situation is very far from the real experience of people living in the war. I realized that even historical memory does not bring us closer to what the civilians who have fallen into the meat grinder of war are actually going through now.

The war in Ukraine continues. I think it is very important to talk about this to the world, which would rather prefer distancing or denying the harsh reality. 

While choosing a team of Lithuanian artists, I sought to bring together interesting creators who sensitively reflect today’s current affairs. Artistic people are usually intuitive. According to the famous Lithuanian graphic artist Petras Repšys, „The hand of the artist surpasses the thought“, and sometimes – even time.

It was not a coincidence that Vaiva Kovieraitė-Trumpė’s works, dated 2012, appeared in the Lithuanian collection. It is interesting and important that the feelings of war emerged in the works of this artist a few years before the annexation of Crimea.

In the first years of the Great War in Ukraine, Jurga Barilaitė created, in my opinion, the strongest anti-war performance in the Lithuanian art. She chose a well-known Lithuanian folk song Pass Me a Sword, Sister. The leitmotif of this song was the normal daily life of our nation for many centuries (and again, it is not a coincidence that our state coat of arms depicts a warrior of light chasing away conquerors).

The authors Vaiva Kovieraitė-Trumpė and Jurga Brilaitė, who could not participate directly in the residency, significantly contribute to the context of the exhibition with their previous works.

Evelina Paukšytė, an artist who feels the turmoil of life very sensitively and explores the theme of dystopia in her work, has decided to deviate from her usual plots. She created a triptych of works in which she philosophically looked at war as a phenomenon, declaring the idea of Strawberry Fields Forever victory.

Vidas Poškus, who analyzes and ironizes the themes of the past and memory in his daily work, has completed the triptych that he started to paint at the beginning of the war. His work reflects on the theme of the sacred sacrifice and is dedicated to the Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius, who died in Mariupol.

The young artist Vaiva Monika Lanskoronskytė, in her works, creates poetic images of lost, destroyed, inhospitable ports. The topic of dissolving historical memory, which we do not think about in our everyday life, is important to her. Those images hit us unexpectedly, after awakening something in us, they become certain harbors. Even if they are harsh, sometimes they become the only shelter.

In my work, I have deliberately refused any reproduction of war images. I believe that some of the artists’ insights can be embodied, and I don’t want that. So I have visualized the symbol of the victory of hope and light over the inner humans‘ darkness.

The two-week-long creative collaboration with the Ukrainian and Polish artists affected and changed all of us very strongly. It was extremely interesting to watch this and to see so many individual perspectives reflecting on various aspects of the topic.

And the most important thing was probably the fact that we supported our colleagues from Ukraine, and we gained priceless emotional experience. All our concentration and creative energy had the same direction throughout the process of creation.

I am sincerely thankful for the organizer of the Biruchiy-Borowiec residence Dariusz Munio (Poland), the main curator Gennadiy Kozub (Ukraine), the Vilnius Art Academy, VAA exhibition’s space Titanikas and VAA museum’s manager Vidas Poškas and Vaiva Monika Lanskoronskyte for their help in arranging this exhibition.

Irma Balakauskaitė, curator of the group of the Lithuanian artists