Opening: 26 May, 19:00
Exhibition dates: 27 May–2 July 2022
Location: Former sewing factory ‘Lelija’, Paneriu st. 43, Vilnius
Visiting hours:
Thursday – Friday 16.00-19.00
Saturday 13.00-18.00
Sunday 13.00-16.00
Other days by appointment
Facebook event [1]
Rupert is pleased to announce a site-specific installation by Bianca Bondi [2] as part of the public programme. Located in the building complex of the former sewing factory Lelija (en. Lilith), the installation will reflect the rich history of the space, its ongoing regeneration and the multitude of interlaced realities that comprise the site. The work and accompanying events will acknowledge the vitality of the space that allowed it to survive through decades of turbulent changes while harbouring diverse eco(nomic) systems. From the grandiose homogeneity of the Soviet era to the perturbed choreography of wild capitalism, until this day, the complex continues to serve as a habitat of diverse resilience.
Emphasising the connection between material, vitality and speculation, the installation will add another layer to augment the distinct fabric of the factory. Like a blooming industrial interface between different worlds, the space will lend itself for cross-system explorations. Where once dust and the hum of machines signified the dominance of economic worldbuilding, now, by re-claiming objects and using oxidation, calcification, dripping, ossification and growth, Bondi will render a vision of metamorphic storytelling.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bianca Bondi (b. 1986, Johannesburg) lives and works in Paris. Her multidisciplinary practice involves the activation or elevation of mundane objects through the use of chemical reactions, most often by salt water. The materials she works with are chosen for their potential for mutation or their intrinsic and symbolic properties. Her aim is to promote experiences beyond the visual and advocate for the life of matter with an emphasis on interconnectivity, transience and the cycles of life and death. Passionate about ecology and the occult sciences, Bondi combines the two, resulting in pluridisciplinary works of a transformative nature through which the aura of objects is key. Often site-specific, the poetic results are very much connected to the places in which they are to exist.
Her work has been the subject of individual exhibitions: La Fondation Louis Vuitton, France (2021), Le Voyage à Nantes, France (2021); Le Parvis, Tarbes (2020); Les Limbes, Saint-Etienne (2018); Hazard, Johannesburg (2018); La Cité des Sciences, Paris (2017); and La Villa Belleville, Paris (2017).
She has also participated in numerous collective exhibitions and events such as Radicants, Venice (2022); the 2nd Thailand Biennale (2021); Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles (2021); Casino Luxembourg (2020); Pera Museum, Istanbul (2020); the Busan Biennale (2020); Het HEM, Zaandam (2020); the 15thLyon Biennale (2019); Bozar, Brussels (2019).
Curator: Tautvydas Urbelis
Coordinator: Rugilė Miliukaitė
Design: Jonė Miškinytė
Bianca Bondi. Photo: Laurent Lecat
Rupert’s activities are supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
Partners: Tech Zity, LAPAS books