Anouk De Clercq solo exhibition ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’ runs at the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) (Vokiečių st. 2, Vilnius) until 4th May 2025. The exhibition is curated by Vsevolod Kovalevskij.
From the depths of the CAC Cinema Hall, the sounds of Anouk De Clercq’s exhibition drift through the bright corridors of the second floor of the Contemporary Art Centre, enveloping visitors in an otherworldly birdsong and inviting them to pause and embrace a world without us. One of the video works in the exhibition depict two birds in a weightless realm, their songs summoning the sun – until an eclipse reveals the stars. Birdsong reflects on beginnings and endings, offering a meditation on a world where humanity no longer exists – a postlapsarian paradise, a kind of love at last sight.
Echoes of this theme are reflected in the second video piece, We’ll find you when the sun goes black, which interprets the historical use of the ’terrella’, a small magnetised model representing the Earth. First pioneered by the scientist William Gilbert and later refined by Christian Birkeland, the terrella has been used to study natural phenomena including the aurora. The simulation of the Earth’s magnetic field and the resulting auroral displays mirror the cosmic events in the exhibition and their fleeting beauty.
The exhibition also echoes Bertolt Brecht’s poignant reflections from his Svendborg Poems, written during his exile in 1939: ‘In the dark times / Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing / About the dark times.’ De Clercq’s work embodies this sentiment, using art to reflect on and discover beauty in the darkness, much like Brecht reflected on expression in troubled times.
The soundtracks in both videoworks are composed by Vessel, a composer known for his innovative electronic and contemporary instrumental music. Vessel’s music sounds both ancient and unmistakably contemporary, reinforcing the works’ themes of timeless communication.
Photographer: Andrej Vasilenko
‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’ installation view. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘Birdsong’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘Birdsong’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘Birdsong’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘Birdsong’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘Birdsong’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
Videowork ‘We’ll find you when the sun goes black’. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko
