Jonas Aničas
The exhibition Nobody Remembers His Name delves into the topic of an observer, often addressed in the works of the artist. An active and a passive observation is conveyed by employing everyday objects by giving them anthropomorphic shapes. From the first look, the sculptural objects look like passive observers of the presence, but they grant their audience the power to become an active evaluator of the past and look for correlations with the everyday world. The works presented in the exhibition speak about the relevant topic of the consumption of mass production as well. It criticises the mass production, aesthetics of repetition, anonymity of creation and harm to the environment. This effect is emphasised by the shapes and colours of products used for commercial purposes which can be found in the brands of the supermarkets. However, a person consumes not only items, but also news and media as well. The latter position is becoming increasingly significant these days. This powerful medium provides the conditions for a passive observer, a person, who follows the breaking news but is usually helpless to do anything about the events that transpire. This person is also a consumer, but not someone who creates, so he or she becomes a nameless product of the very same production doomed to be lost in the crowd.
The outwardly different layers of the exhibition invite to actively observe what position will take up us as the audience: whether we will be the creators of our existence or give in to the passivity which is equal to the oblivion.
Jonas Aničas (b. 1987) is a Lithuanian artist combining in his works several sculptural forms. The artist’s projects are conceptual, multilayered and open to interpretation; it brings the viewers face-to-face with a puzzle based on codes, symbols and references and involves them in solving it. Jonas Anicas is a graduate of sculpture studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Actively presents his work in Lithuania and abroad, Latvia, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, etc. In 2013 he participated at the international biennale of contemporary art ICE – Young Creators of Europe. The artist was recognised as The Best Young Lithuanian Artist in the art fair ArtVilnius’13. In 2017 Jonas Aničas was awarded scholarship for creators of art and culture by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. In 2020, he became a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association.
