The latest exhibition by Karolina Latvytė-Bibiano is like a diary from a life that could have been written by any one of us – humans – hand. A story about the choice to see and not to turn one’s eyes away from the thought of death, which is ingrained in the body with the first scream of birth. The way death is perceived by the living is just a culturally specific practice, these days usually accompanied by fear, anxiety, and discomfort. All of this is reflected in the artist’s work that embarks on a therapeutic journey of feelings and memory through horrifying aesthetics and self-observation. Concrete images and short narratives of real or fictional events from personal life affect the viewer not only with a thoughtful but also with a natural bodily response, thus easily establishing a communal interconnectedness between us all.
Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection states that the encounter with death, or anything that somehow contains the memory of life, shakes up and enlarges our inner worlds that are defending themselves with blindness. Thus, when we understand our own and the world’s mortality, we perceive the value of life differently. The exhibition’s experience is about foreboding, compassion, and authenticity – it is not easy, but it heals the patches of skin that have been flayed by oneself or someone else.
Interdisciplinary artist Karolina Latvytė-Bibiano obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Painting at Kaunas Faculty of Vilnius Academy of Arts. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s degree at the Department of Sculpture in Vilnius. Through photography, drawing, and video making, the artist, who has been exploring the relationship between man and nature for a long time, is now researching personal fears, the feeling of anxiety, and a state of vulnerability. Latvytė-Bibiano’s works have been presented both in Lithuanian and foreign exhibitions. In 2015–2018, four solo exhibitions were opened in Kaunas, Jonava, and Puerto Vallarta (Mexico). The artist has also implemented a number of cultural and curatorial projects.
Author of the text – Emilija Statinaitė
Thanks to: Simona Žemaitytė, Henrik B. Andersen, Deimantas Narkevičius
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