The Spectral Forest

Published on Monday, 10 August 2020 11:15

The Spectral Forest

28 August – 8 November 2020
Open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10:00–17:00
 
Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts
E. A. Jonušo str. 3
Nida LT-93127

Participating artists: Eglė Budvytytė in collaboration with Marija Olšauskaitė and Julija Steponaitytė, Susanna Jablonski, Paul Maheke, Santiago Mostyn, Jin Mustafa, Ieva Rojutė, Mark Ther, Elin Már Øyen Vister
Curator: Rado Ištok

The exhibition The Spectral Forest presents newly commissioned and existing works by eight international contemporary artists. Departing from the history of deforestation and afforestation, and displacement and resettlement, on the Curonian Spit, as well as the significance of the sacred groves in the Baltic region, the exhibition is conceived as a promenade through an enchanted forest. The Spectral Forest refers both to spectres, ghosts, and spirits traditionally residing in the forest, and to a spectrum. While both words have the same Latin root (spectrum: appearance, apparition), a spectrum represents a band of colours, as seen in a rainbow, or more generally a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values as quantifiable numbers but can vary across a continuum. A spectrum thus implies a broad range grouped together, similarly to a forest encompassing various species, and, in the case of the Curonian Spit, simultaneously stabilising the underlying sand dunes.

The exhibition, alongside an accompanying catalogue (to be published in January 2021), is the final chapter of the four formats – alongside a residency, a workshop, and two publications - guest-curated by Rado Ištok at NAC within the 4Cs: From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture, a European Cooperation Project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. As a part of the programme, five of the participating artists took part in a two-month residency at NAC in Autumn 2019 in order to produce newly commissioned works for the exhibition. In parallel, a three-day workshop Dwelling on the Threshold, exploring spaces of passage, flux, and fluidity, took place at Nida Art Colony in October 2019, accompanied by an eponymous online handbook published in February 2020.

Exhibition guide

Curator: Rado Ištok

Exhibition design: Ieva Rojūtė

Graphic design: Gailė Pranckūnaitė

Exhibition install: Jokūbas Čižikas

Exhibition furniture: Jurga Daubaraitė and Jonas Žukauskas

Translation and editing: George Jepson, Alexandra Bondarev, and Monika Kalinauskaitė

Project management, production and coordination: current and former NAC team (Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Rasa Antanavičiūtė, Mindaugas Bepirštis, Egija Inzule, Luka Jefremovaitė, Monika Kalinauskaitė, Indrė Liškauskaitė, Kestutis Minderis, Julija Navarskaitė, Beatričė Surgela, Yana Ustymenko)

 
 

Installation view The Spectral Forest at NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.

Installation view The Spectral Forest. Video: Santiago Mostyn, Drawing for Bellevue Estate, 2018. 16mm to 2K transfer, stereo sound, colour/black & white, 12’00”. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Ansis Starks. 

Susanna Jablonski, Adrianna's Akato, 2019. Marble, paper clay, glass, ceramic, video, various materials. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view The Spectral Forest at NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts. Photo by Ansis Starks.



Installation view The Spectral Forest at NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


In the front: Susanna Jablonski, Henry’s Couch, 2019. Marble, paper clay, wasp nest, ceramic, textile. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Video on the left: Eglė Budvytytė with Marija Olšauskaitė and Julija Steponaitytė, Songs from the Compost: Mutating Bodies, Imploding Stars, 2020. HD video, 29 min. Courtesy of the artist. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs and 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, RIBOCA2. Photo by Ansis Starks.  


Video: Mark Ther, Golo, 2020. Video, 21 min. Courtesy of the artist. Wall piece: Ieva Rojūtė, It’s Haunting, Natural, Cruel and Kind, 2020. Wall stickers, wallpaper. Courtesy of the artist. Both commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Paul Maheke, We took a sip from the devil’s cup, 2020. Bleach on fabric, hand blown glass. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Installation view The Spectral Forest at NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Video: Jin Mustafa, Ahead of Sight, 2020. Video, 5 min. Courtesy of the artist. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Installation view The Spectral Forest at NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Paul Maheke, We took a sip from the devil’s cup, 2020. Bleach on fabric, hand blown glass. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Ieva Rojūtė, It’s Haunting, Natural, Cruel and Kind, 2020. Wall stickers, wallpaper. Courtesy of the artist. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.


Elin Már Øyen Vister, Offerings to the voices of the wind, the sea, the land, 2020. Ceramic, wood, text, sound, music, seawater. Courtesy of the artist. Commissioned for The Spectral Forest, NAC of Vilnius Academy of Arts within the framework of 4Cs. Photo by Ansis Starks.



NAC urges all visitors to be mindful of the current protective measures against the spreading of Covid-19: we kindly ask you to wear appropriate face coverings in the exhibition space and keep a safe distance from other visitors and staff. The number of visitors in the space allowed at a time will be limited. 

 
The exhibition is part of the project 4Cs: From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.