2025 Finalists

The work is part of my series Elada 2025, which served as the theme for my master’s in painting. The series explores a reinterpretation of my hometown’s historical fascination with bodybuilding culture.

My interest in this niche stems from a complex relationship with my father, who has been both an inspiration and a point of tension in my life. Beyond personal connections, I am drawn to the culture itself – the dedication to pushing the body to its limits, often in underground, even illegal, spaces. During Soviet times, bodybuilding was prohibited, giving rise to a hidden subculture that fascinates me deeply.

The human body has always played a central role in art, yet finding new ways to depict it can seem daunting. I approach this challenge by merging my parents’ memories with my own experiences, seeking an authentic perspective that recontextualizes the body and sparks new discussions.

In this series, I have moved beyond oil painting alone. The theme felt too expansive for a single medium, and I wanted to explore ways of engaging painting with contemporary art forms, such as installation. Because the body is inherently textured, I incorporated materials that echo the tactile quality of bodybuilders’ sculpted forms. One unexpected choice was women’s stockings. Their texture evokes the appearance of taut, polished skin while introducing layers of cultural and historical significance. Stockings have long been a symbol of femininity, often fetishized, sexualized, or even associated with aggression – ripped stockings as masks in robberies, for example. These associations add depth and tension to the works, contrasting ultra-masculinity with feminine delicacy, force with beauty, rage with softness.

The spaces depicted in my work are equally important. They are not imagined – they are the legendary gym Elada in Šiauliai, which sadly closed this year. Established in 1970, it was the last gym preserving the authentic atmosphere of that era. I aim to reimagine these spaces through memories my father shared and glimpses I caught in childhood: the smell, the energy, the uncanny intensity of the environment. These gyms were often run-down, tense, and uncomfortable, yet also familiar and compelling.

I present a work that brings together these elements, inviting the viewer to experience the unique atmosphere of entering the underground gym – its texture, tension, and charged history.

(13/25)