A biographer of the strangeness, Goda Palekaitė is interested in historical characters imbued with mystery; in transgressive figures who, breaking with the dominant thought of their time, find themselves proscribed or marginalized by History. Through her research-based practice, she digs into these particular lives, their lacunar stories and what they allow us to deduce or speculate about the psychology of the protagonists. She draws these portraits through a practice of writing, mixing factual references and fictional interpretations in order to question the processes of historical construction and collective memory. What is inscribed, what is forgotten and what is perceived today. Fully assuming the hybridity of her narratives, she challenges us about these individuals as they are often deeply committed and have complex, liminal, personalities. She plays on the credibility of the testimony, the power of subjective projection and identification that inspires the audience.
For her exhibition at la Tour à Plomb, Goda Palekaitė takes over the “Foyer” with a series of artworks that interact with the singular architecture of this vaulted room that resembles a crypt. Under the title Architecture of Heaven, it gathers figures from different eras whose lives are marked by mystical revelations and visions of ecstasy that have led them to a second life, set back from the secular world.
In the frame of the exhibition the artist presents on October 10, a collective performance, Digestive System of Humanity: The Mouth, which takes the form of a banquet* during which the guests are invited to read short passages from a text written by the artist (EN & FR). It gives the floor to historical personalities with backgrounds and temperaments as unusual as they are surprising; Sappho, Essad Bey, Michel Leiris, Avraham Firkovich and Emmanuel Swedenborg, among others. This performance is realized in collaboration with Jonas Palekas, chef and artist who has conceived five dishes made with little known or even forgotten ingredients, which hold legendary or proven virtues. These recipes echo the stories told by the text.
* The course of this performance takes into account the distances between the participants and the terms of service in accordance with health measures.
The exhibition Architecture of Heaven and the performance Digestive System of Humanity: The Mouth are organized by Schizma organization in collaboration with the non-profit SB34, with the support of the Tour à Plomb/City of Brussels, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
Architecture of Heaven
Goda Palekaitė
9 – 17.10.2020
Curated by Pauline Hatzigeorgiou
Opening 8.10 6pm – 9pm
with Schismatics book launch & reading by Agata Jastrzabek & Stefan Govaart 7.30pm – 8pm
Dinner-performance 10.10 7pm – 9pm with Jonas Palekas
Digestive System of Humanity: The Mouth
free entrance but limited seats
register at info@sb34.org
Monday – Saturday 10am – 6pm
Centre Tour à Plomb / salle Le Foyer
24 rue de l’Abattoir – 1000 Bruxelles