ROOTS
We often ask ourselves who we are. Why do we look, talk, laugh, love in one way or another. These questions follow us throughout our lives. Is there one answer? Probably not. I believe that we are very much like those for whom we are alive. Our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents. All the versions of us that once existed. I believe that not only hereditary diseases are encoded in the genes, but also the whole family history.
My analysis of Lithuanian media art has led me to the conclusion that Lithuanian artists, by talking about traumatic collective memory in their work, are playing a crucial role in helping society process, remember and make sense of its past. As a third-generation artist, I decided to use various artistic means to reveal my own family’s traumatic memory, which has shaped me as a person.
The Roots project consists of three parts: an artistic video film, part of which is a text written by me, archival family photographs and a single object on display – my great-grandmother’s shoes, found in her house, which was falling apart.