Lecture by Volodymyr Tarasov: New visuality in contemporary Lithuanian photography

Lithuanian photography carries unprecedented weight in European visual culture. Yet its relevance is felt far more sharply within the country itself, where the notions of a “school of photography” and “national identity” do not just coexist but almost coincide.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century this shaped Lithuania’s visual culture and set an important precedent of resistance to Soviet pressure. At the start of the 21st century, however, it is felt as a challenge by a new generation of artists who live in the shadow of the greatness of photographers such as Sutkus, Požerskis and Rakauskas.

So talking about contemporary Lithuanian photography means trying to answer a few questions: how do you overcome the pressure of tradition? How do you raise the bar even higher without betraying your own creative identity?

To look for answers, we will talk about photographers from the “borderline” generations of the late eighties and the millennials. It was they who began testing the elasticity of social taboos and artistic norms, which changed the rules of the game and gave rise to a new visuality in Lithuanian photography.