2020 – the Man in the Mirror

One of my newest images from the Vilnius Series, 2020

“Apocalyptic!” – said my harshest, yet most supportive critic browsing through some of my newest images from the Vilnius Series.

– I am not going to break myself, I retorted...

Though I still tried, I felt I needed to.

I have been working on the Series since 2019. This was my sole purpose for staying in Vilnius – to collect data, to read, research, photograph, document, walk, talk, dream, measure, listen, smell, touch, soak in the seasons, provoke emotion, maybe love...

At the same time, I knew I could be anywhere, not anchored to this city. Ironically all the choices became increasingly narrowed down.

So Vilnius.

Vilnius.

Very green and grey, and blue with streaks...

Looking back, it's been a year of loss. My father Pranciškus Gerlikas passed away in May this year. His complete creative legacy is yet to be showcased publicly and inheritance fully understood.
It has also been a year of some hard-headed departures, solitude, failures to arrive, cancelled exhibitions, and new friendships. I found that friendships were increasingly spurred by a yearning for stability, even conformity, and a desire to hold the world as we knew it still, as it was slowly seeping away.

It seems to me, we all know what's in store for us in the next years, the very next year... We have been told. How much of it are we willing to agree with and make it into a narrative of our own lives?

Take a good look at the man in the mirror.

Today, however, it's Christmas Eve, traditionally celebrated in Lithuania. It's a quiet family gathering for a twelve-dish Advent meal.

I wish you all warm and cosy Christmas, and I hope you are together with your family and well.

Happy, happier 2021!

With Love, Jurgita

One of my newest images from the Vilnius Series, 2020