Neda Naujokaitė | Inside / Outside
Opening: February 28th 6p.m.
The exhibition will be on display: February 28th – March 16th.
Inside / Outside – an uncertain, ambiguous state. I have been interested in this phenomenon for quite some time now. Life circumstances forced me to live in a kind of transit state between different cities and settlements, to move constantly. For a year I was living in the Netherlands, which made the change of places even more intense. While being there, I got introduced to posthumanism (philosopher Rosi Braidotti) and theories that analyze transit and transitional spaces, which are called non-places. The term non-places was coined by French antropologist Marc Augé. Non-places are such transitory spaces as hotels, airports, shopping malls, highways, and railways. I found this phenomenon interesting, and most of all its impermanence, constant movement, and dynamics. In this age of technology, travel and the ever-increasing relationship with mentioned places is a common, well known human experience. The amount of information and the speed of its spread seems to oblige you to move, hurry, experience and to cover as much as possible. Because of this there is a feeling of fear of missing something or disappointing someone. The inexorable expectation of something intangible, located in the future or another geographical location. Often after traveling, socializing, events, or experiences, there is a strong need to stop and catch a breath. However, contemporary world keeps re-engaging you in that dynamic circle. Painting and its process gives a feeling of being settled.
When choosing motifs, I try to combine static and dynamic images, inside and outside, personal motifs and the ones lacking character (non-place) – like clouds floating in the glass of a lonely car, light coming through the window of my grandmother’s house or a gleamy reflection inside the car on a sunny summer day with highways, car lights, the scenery through the train window. In my works, I analyze how the images and fragments speak about particular places and experiences. I emphasize the importance of lighting, reflections, or specific details of the environment, as well as the importance of introspection and change. I notice that these aspects activate consciousness and visual thinking, that help me to remember different places, their atmosphere, and depth. This way of representation creates an atmosphere of intertwined memory and experience. While, with the video material, I try to create a kind of cacophony, the mechanical and speedy dynamics of traveling from one point to another, contrasting with the stillness of multi-layered painting.
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Neda Naujokaitė (b. 2000) is an artist of the young generation, who graduated from the Kaunas Art Gymnasium and is currently studying at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, bachelor studies in the painting department. 2021-2022 studied in the Netherlands, ArtEZ Academy, BEAR program. Since 2016 participates in group exhibitions and projects. From 2021 in projects with foreign artists. In 2022 took the first place in the Algimantas Švėgžda drawing competition, in the same year, became a finalist in the XIV Young Painter’s Prize competition.
