2024 Finalists

I’m a Lithuanian artist working mostly in watercolor medium. My works delve into the interplay between humans and everyday objects, searching for the paradoxes where worthlessness and usefulness intertwine and spirituality and consumerism meet. My research extends beyond mere objects, and explores my own materiality and usefulness, this leads to artworks depicting trash as beings and portraying humans as mere objects.

Artwork „Rolls“ was created this year, during an art residency in Amsterdam at Plantage Dok. The painting serves as a diary, representing a revelation within.

Arriving at Plantage Dok at the beginning of March, I was completely ill. For two weeks, confined to my room, I lay unable to move, observing the sun’s journey across the sky, its reflection bouncing off the walls and mirrors as it rose and set. Bathed in its light, I felt my soul heal alongside my body. The room evolved into a space for personal revelations within the beauty of simplicity, becoming the primary inspiration for the works created during this twomonth period.

During this time I went further into self-reflection, questioning why I feel empathy towards disregarded debris, and why I often see myself as an object even as trash. I realized this perception stems from deep-seated shame and guilt, heavily influenced by my Catholic upbringing. Noticing how frequently I engage with religious themes—whether through the glorification of discarded objects or through wordplay in artwork titles hinting at religious motifs—I was inspired to delve deeper into this exploration.

In the artwork, portraying myself in a contemporary setting, wearing headphones, alongside an interpretation of the biblical Ezekiel’s wheel. The realistic portrait contrasts with a flat, medievalstyle entity. By playing with biblical allusions and reinterpreting them in a contemporary context, I have discovered a way to slowly release myself from the burdens of guilt that were never truly mine to bear.

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