Work culture

Vilte Fuller is a young generation painter born in Klaipeda, Lithuania now living and working in London. She holds a BA in Painting and Printmaking from The Glasgow School of Art. In her figurative paintings characters, landscapes and motifs are intertwined with nostalgic science fiction imagery and personal experiences from her Eastern European heritage. Currently, her exploration is deeply rooted in her evolving relationship with the concept of work and productivity. 

In her latest exhibition „Corporate Horrors“ at the Brooke Benington gallery, Vilte sheds light on the allure of the corporate lifestyle. The paintings take us back to the workplace of 80s and 90s – the epicentre of life, a promise of a better tomorrow, depending directly on hard work. The artist compares these corporate dreams (or nightmares) with the philosophy of her generation, that „grew up with a narrative that the world is broken and that fixing it will come with real change and sacrifice, it feels like we never got to enjoy the ‘anything is possible’ era“. 

Earlier Vilte’s works contain fragments of her Eastern European heritage, where fairytales don’t always have a happy ending. Feelings of terror and false security are reflected in her paintings, through whose muted tones it is difficult to see a bright tomorrow. Technology and the human form are of the same hue, one day blending into the next. Her paintings lie in the uncanny valley, where Eastern European cultural imagery is entangled with Western cinema, video games, Lithuanian folklore and its horror tales. Her take on it is humorous and curious, as if inviting us to walk together among these nightmarish scenographies, accepting them for what they are.

Produced by The Good Neighbour
Questions: Justė Kostikovaitė
Music by Koloah, from the album “Serenity”
Filmed by Elena Reimerytė
Text by Marija Sinkevičiūtė

Supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture

Partners: UK Lithuanian Youth Association,
the British-Lithuanian Society

Adelina Sasnauskaitė: women come first

Adelina Sasnauskaitė is a Lithuanian born painter and tattoo artist living and working in London. She holds a BA in Illustration and Visual Media from the London College of Communication. Her work has been exhibited at a variety of shows across London and Manchester. Her artistic practice explores feminine identity and the feeling of ‘being watched’.

We, as spectators, find ourselves in front of two-dimensional bodies that expose themselves in various choreographies for as long as we want to explore them. The situation is familiar, we are used to commercials in which smooth, sleek bodies glistening in the sunlight of the studio try to convince us that we want to have what they have. But in Adelinas’ paintings, there’s something slightly off about this situation.

In her works, women come first. Femininity is performed in a variety of forms and angles. She plays with the aesthetics of 80s magazines and posters, elements of bling culture and adult entertainment, mixing symbols from the Eastern and Western worlds. Delving into the notion of ‘being watched’, Adelina replaces the smooth photographic bodies we are used to with the ones we would see hidden in a teenager’s locker – drawn in markers, white spaces left in some places, in bright bubbly colours. This twist makes Adelina’s works satirical, turning the usual depiction of femininity into a constantly redrawn cartoon.

Produced by The Good Neighbour in 2023
Questions: Justė Kostikovaitė
Text edit: Aistė Marija Stankevičiūtė
Filmed by Elena Reimerytė
Supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
Partners: UK Lithuanian Youth Association and the British-Lithuanian Society

 

Tinkering With Acid: Studio Visit With Urtė Janus

In the interview for The Good Neighbour artist Urtė Janus shares her creative journey and reflects an ongoing exploration of materiality, time, and the intricate relationship between art and the environment. She is speaking to us while picking up the bones, stones and plastic pieces on the shores of the Thames and tinkering with acid in her London studio.

Urtė Janus is a London-based Lithuanian artist, whose multidisciplinary approach stems from a photography degree, gradually evolving into video art, sculpture, and set design. Her latest work, “All the Seas Long Gone,” displayed at the National Gallery of Art as part of the JCDecaux Prize exhibition until December 3, 2023 reflects her journey in finding diverse forms of artistic expression.

Janus recently completed a year-long residency at the Alexander McQueen Sarabande Foundation before pursuing an Art and Ecology MA at Goldsmiths. There she continues her experimental approach, blending theoretical insights with sensory perception. Janus’ introspective and interdisciplinary approach prompts discussions on the ephemeral nature of art, disrupting traditional perceptions of artistic longevity and engaging with broader ecological and existential dialogues.

 

Produced by The Good Neighbour in 2023
Questions: Justė Kostikovaitė
Photography: Urtė Janus

Music: NataTeva – LASKA
Filmed by Elena Reimerytė

Supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture

Partners: UK Lithuanian Youth Association,
the British-Lithuanian Society

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