2015 » Lithuania » Section of Countries and Regions

The Maps of Vanishing Identities

The exposition presents the artistic, ideological and stylistic context of modern Lithuanian scenography over the last four years. Principal trends include a growing emphasis on social and political theatre, which is focused on themes of emigration and the use of the contextual scenic experience as a way of giving sense to the new reality in modern and traditional dramaturgy.

With a view towards at global sociocultural changes, there has been a dramatic shift in individual attitudes and responsibilities of stage designers in Lithuanian theatre, not only within specific performances, but within the whole creative process of theatrical art or anti-art as well. These changes in the aesthetic traditions and values of the theatre world have been accompanied by changes in the artists´ personal relationship to the dramaturgy. The closer link between the dramatic text and the visual scenic context seems to have been accompanied by their more critical and acute interrelationship.

The exposition thus attempts to provide objective examples of scenographic works by choosing photos from performances that conform to the aforementioned trends as much as possible.

Equally important for the exhibition designers are the concepts of fragility, ephemerality and even disappearance, which form the essence of scenography as an artistic discipline. The images of a “sowthistle” or “mandala” have chosen consciously. The topic of fragility and disappearance is captured through photographs of the scenography for the exhibited works, in which the problems raised by the performances are linked to the search for topics related to dramatists’ and art directors’ changing identities.

The exposition has been designed by theatre artists from various generations: Simona Biekšaitė, Kotryna Daujotaitė, Aldona Jankauskienė, Gintaras Makarevičius, Arvydas Norvaišas, Jūratė Paulėkaitė, Jūratė Račinskaitė, Ramutė Skrebūnaitė, Julija Skuratova, Artūras Šimonis, Birutė Ukrinaitė, and Marta Vosyliūtė. These artists represent different experiences and forms of creative introspection, but their professional contribution nevertheless creates a new and original conceptual space that vividly represents the nascent and varying visual scenic language of Lithuanian theatre and has influenced the country’s ideological and artistic cultural environment.