Earth Drama, Meno Niša, Vilnius. Lithuania

Works by Anton Örstrand (Malmö) and Paulius Šliaupa (Vilnius) are inspired by nature and an exploration of the modern-man relationship with the landscape. Paintings, drawings, and videos shown in the exhibition present the dramatic, often filmic visual systems arising from this relationship. What is surrounding us and what might come after? The world is changing on scales that are beyond human reach and maybe they can not be explained by science theories and words? Man, nature, synthetic and the organic worlds, figures, dissolving texts, gestures and symbols are recurring motifs in the works of Anton Örstrand and Paulius Sliaupa.

Anton explores the constantly changing visual systems of text and image through the medium of painting. In a poetic way, he unfolds dualisms creating abstract imagery with a hint of depiction. The works resulting from an anthropologic research approach often aim to uncover the process of classifying and looking for sense which remains a mystery in the end.

Paulius, coming from a family of geologists, going to the nature every day, researches the interaction of natural and artificial ambiances and lights that affect our daily lives. From video installations and experimental movies for the cinema to object-like paintings, he works with associations to create a journey through different spaces and sensations.

In the exhibition Earth Drama, we see recurring motifs in both artist bodies of work such as stains, symbols, and lights which from cryptic structures emerging from the landscape images. These visual macrocosms, constantly in flux, become sources of inspiration. What human traces will remain in the world after we are all gone? Employing different styles and mediums, the exhibition generates worlds that weave together mythology, anthropology, magic, quantum physics, sci-fi, and the subconscious.