Artist Aurelija Bulaukaitė, in collaboration with entrepreneur Justinas Tomkus, founder of the Olialia Group, presents a conceptual art project analyzing one of the most striking visual phenomena in post-Soviet Europe – Olialia. This cultural phenomenon, active from 2001 to 2011, shaped a new image of women within media, advertising, and entertainment.
Over a decade, Olialia became one of the most recognizable brands in the Baltic States – launching 375 projects, building a database of 25,000 girls, and generating over 16,000 media messages about Olialia in various languages worldwide. It was not only a business endeavor but a cultural force that shaped the region’s consumer imagination and visual landscape.
Today, Olialia becomes a subject of contemporary art – a complex symbol where consumption, feminism, and power intersect.
The exhibition titled “The Smart Blonde Empire / Protingų blondinių imperija” invites us to rethink the myth of the “blonde” created by mass culture and its transformations in today’s context.
Aurelija Bulaukaitė herself becomes the face of the contemporary Olialia girl – a confident, rebellious, sensual, and multi-layered figure redefining the role of women in contemporary culture. Her personal image and artistic practice embody the tension between self-realization and societal expectations, between the glamour of spectacle and the realities of everyday survival.
“I’m fascinated by women’s stories where inner resilience confronts external noise. Olialia, for me, is not glitter – it’s energy, from which power is born. A symbol where the woman is not just portrayed but sets her own rules,” says Aurelija Bulaukaitė.
A key axis of the exhibition is the archive of photographer Raimundas Adžgauskas. Until his death in 2025, he was one of Lithuania’s most prolific portrait photographers, shaping the early visual identity of Olialia and contributing to the media portrayal of women during that era. His photos were published in Playboy, FHM, and Cosmopolitan, and iconic photo shoots featuring figures such as Elena Puidokaitė-Bruzgulienė (Atlanta) – singer, entrepreneur, and editor of Elle Lithuania – became cult classics.
Aurelija Bulaukaitė subtly transforms these archival images with her artistic touch – not diminishing their aesthetic weight, but recontextualizing them as part of a contemporary narrative. Alongside these, new paintings are exhibited, functioning as an independent but conceptually linked exhibition line – revealing the tension between commercial aesthetics, bodily control, and the mythologies of femininity.
One of the project’s departure points is Olialia’s recognition within an international women’s leadership context, marking its inclusion in the world’s largest network of active women. This platform connects influential creators, entrepreneurs, and visionaries from sectors including marketing, entertainment, art, banking, transport, and travel – women who are shaping the face of the modern world.
Olialia’s ambitions reached far – from magazine covers to managing its own island in the Maldives, a high-heel-shaped island that garnered attention from publications such as BBC, CNN, Vogue, and The Times.
As former Maldivian Minister of Health Mariyam Shakeela once stated:
“Justinas, you are misrepresenting to the world what you have truly achieved. Forget sexuality and the entertainment industry – you have created the largest women’s empowerment and advancement project.”
Aurelija Bulaukaitė’s exhibition in Monaco is a sensitive journey through the discourses of femininity, power, control, and representation. The exhibition brings together various eras, mediums, and identities. The artist has received international recognition, with her works exhibited in prominent shows in New York, Seoul, Berlin, Denmark, and beyond. In 2023, Aurelija was a finalist for the Young Painter Prize. Her practice combines a conceptual approach to femininity and beauty culture with critiques of commercial aesthetics, spanning painting, sculpture, performance, and digital art. Her work speaks to the complex relationship between personal identity, societal expectations, and the influence of contemporary media.
“The Smart Blonde Empire” is a visual choreography between fantasy and reality, inviting the viewer to reconsider what it means to be seen and how visibility reshapes our understanding of power dynamics.
The exhibition will take place July 6–13, 2025, at the Fairmont Hotel in Monaco, during Monaco Art Week.
