The well-known photographer Vaida Keleras jokingly says that she would not say which city sidewalks she has touched more during her life - Vilnius or New York, but the author, who has prepared several photo exhibitions and books, assures that Vilnius has always been and is a special place for her. According to the artist, one of her memorable sources of inspiration is the capital's district Uzhupis, which she has captured in her photos with a film camera. We talk to the photographer herself about the uniqueness of this area and the related future creative challenges.
Awaiting challenges
V. Keller, together with twelve other well-known artists, accepted the challenge to create the largest art gallery in Lithuania next year in an unexpected space - the stairs of the settlement "Užupio krantinės". According to the artist, this project is a challenge and at the same time an opportunity for artists to show other people their work, to place original works of art where many would simply not expect.
"All over the world, there is now a tendency to move art to the most unexpected spaces. This is not done because art is more censored in galleries and museums, or is not accessible to everyone, or simply doesn't fit anymore - we just want a busy modern person to flinch after seeing it, as if by accident," the artist said about the uniqueness of the project.
"Užupis krantine" will display authored photos of old and new Užupis by V. Keleras, which will show the transformations of the district.
About the symbols of Užupis
In the photo album of V. Keleras published in 2004, which is dedicated to the "unpolished Užupis", you can feel the work of a keen observer, an extremely detailed approach to the environment. The author herself says that vigilance is like relaxation and therapy for her.
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"It's really like a kind of therapy - to get away from all kinds of work and tasks for a while. I don't remember what prompted me to do it twenty years ago, but I think it was more personal then: I came back after a decade of living in America and suddenly I saw the city where I lived for about ten years from the age of 18, the city itself was changing and "coloring" a lot. that's why I started taking pictures just to capture that transformation", said V. Keleras about the creation of the first shots of the city of Vilnius.
The artist admits that Užupis as a part of the city has many symbolic associations for her.
"You pass through Vilnelė - and you pass as if through water, through yourself. For me, that stream might be a symbol of Užupis and certainly not an Angel or something else that is forcibly planted. The real angels of Užupis, with broken legs and torn wings, were in the Bernardina cemetery, which, by the way, is not oppressive at all, you can go there like a park. Continuing the thought of symbols, the Angel sculpture in the main square immediately comes to mind. I think it is already a symbol of the new Užupis, which is plastered everywhere - a herald of freedom, hatched from an egg, but for me, Kiaušinis was more beautiful and organic to Užupis. And angels are now so fashionable that they are perched even on the name of "Vilnius" when entering the city. You want to turn away when you see the little kitsch angel sitting there," the artist revealed.
V. Keller states that he would not like to associate Užupis only with art - more precisely, to do it artificially.
"The idea of Užupis as the Lithuanian Montmartre was popularized from the very beginning, but I think that everything should happen naturally. Yes, a number of artists and people sympathetic to art have settled there, statues are built in the water, everything is being created live everywhere, people have a lot of freedom, and that's great, but everything must happen freely and without any artificiality," says the photographer.
The gallery of the settlement "Užupis krantinės" in the stairwells will be decorated with the works of Vaida Keleras, Eglė Ridikaitė, Kristina Norvilaitė, Kunigunda Dineikaitė, Tomas Martišauskis, Nerijas Baublis, Sonata Vosyliūtė Čepukėnienė, Marius Skundžinskas, Mingailė Mikelėnaitė, Vita and Gediminas Kalinauskas, Justė Kildišytė and Monika Gedrimaitė. The settlement project is divided into house staircases, each of which is named after the professions of the old residents of Užupis. Each staircase of the house, of which there are 18 in total, will feature different works by different authors, reflecting the identity of that house and different professions.
