The exhibition “The Owl, The Sanctuary, and The One in Motion” by Dainius Liškevičius at the Akmenė Culture House

Dainius Liškevičius belongs to the generation of artists that started their career when Lithuania became independent again in 1990. He works in an interdisciplinary field encompassing installation, photography, performance, and objects, consistently rethinking the principles of form and its function. The artist creates situations in which different artistic languages intersect, and familiar images take on unexpected, often ironic forms. His work is characterized by a critical relationship with ideologies, institutions, and the mechanisms of visual culture. Analyzing the specifics of a particular place, Liškevičius explores patterns of human behavior, transformations of identity, the relationship between the sacred and the profane, and the constant tension between narratives of personal and collective experience.

In his solo exhibition “The Owl, The Sanctuary, and The One in Motion”, Liškevičius continues his ongoing exploration of historical memory, the notion of progress, and the transformation of cultural symbols. The region of Akmenė District is tied into the main narrative of the exhibition, renowned for its natural resources and rich industrial heritage, which has become an important part of its identity. The artist reveals this local identity through the interplay of sacred symbols and the industrial context. The exhibition features 19th-century church interior elements – wooden balustrades that traditionally marked boundary between sacred and everyday space. Stripped of their original liturgical function, they are transformed into kinetic structures. Moving in different directions, they create a tension between forward motion and cyclical return, revealing the paradox of the illusion of progress, in which every step forward simultaneously contains the possibility of returning to the beginning.

A structure constructed from cement bags forms a distinctive sanctuary that functions both as an allusion to ancient concrete traditions and local historical memory, while also offering an ironic reflection on the “sanctuaries” created by contemporary consumerist society. Inside this structure, a speculative ecological and cosmic narrative unfolds, combining personal experience, signs of environmental change, and unsettling visions of the future. A canvas marked by owl droppings becomes a kind of cartography of the future – a map, a trajectory, or a prophetic sign of humanity’s fate. It points to the co-existence of humans and other forms of life, ecological transformation, and humanity’s increasingly fragile relationship with the environment. Here, the owl is not only an observer, but also a witness to the broader transformations of our time – an oracle inviting us to reconsider humanity’s place in, and relationship with, a world it continues to reshape.

Dainius Liškevičius (b. 1970) graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts with a degree in sculpture in 1996 and in 2012 obtained a degree of Licentiate of Arts. He has been a member of the Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Union since 1998. The author has held over 30 solo exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad and participates in group exhibitions around the world. In 2015, he represented Lithuania at the Venice Biennale with his project “Museum”, and in 2021, he won the Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize. In 2023, he presented the premiere of his documentary film “Modern Apartment” at the European film forum SCANORAMA. The artist’s works have been acquired by Lithuanian museums and private collections.

The presentation of “The Owl, The Sanctuary, and The One in Motion” is part of a broader project organized by (AV17) Gallery, aimed at bringing professional contemporary art to Lithuanian cities outside the capital. In addition to this exhibition, the Kurtuvėnai Barn Gallery has opened a solo show by Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė, and an exhibition by Julija Pociūtė will be presented in Octobert at the A. Driukas Music Gallery in Utena.

The exhibition “The Owl, The Sanctuary, and The One in Motion” by Dainius Liškevičius will be open to visitors at the Akmenė Culture House (Sodų Str. 1, Akmenė) until August 21.

The project is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

Project is supported by Akmenės cementas AB and UAB „BAUEN“.