Undercurrents, 08:20, 2024, 4K video,  stereo

In the dark suburban world, I trace the echoes of myth intertwined with modernity. As cities expand and the natural world is reshaped, people’s connection to the landscape evolves, yet beliefs in the supernatural remain. Reflecting this the video's structure is based on the storytelling style of fairytales.

Karaoke spills into the humid night, voices rising like incantations, blending with Hanoi street vendors’ chants and the drone of distant machinery. These sounds weave into a mosaic of longing, resilience, and transformation. People still swim, fish, and explore the dark urban waters, embodying habits that persist despite urbanization and threats — a persisting connection to nature. These habits, though private on their own, emerge as collective patterns in groups — swarms of swimmers in forbidden zones, people burning night fires, fishermen drawing prey into the light — becoming parts of the landscape.

Through movement — traversing the city, suburbs, and countryside, looking for different vantage points — I capture images alongside sounds that diverge and converge. Each shift unveils a tension: between clarity and enigma, the real and the imagined, tradition and modernity. These fleeting fragments form a sensory narrative, where the estranged ordinary takes center stage. In Undercurrents, I seek connections — between the fleeting moments that bind them, creating a story both personal and universal.

Project financed by Flanders State of the Art and Lithuanian council for Culture