Echo Gone Wrong Photo reportage from the exhibition 'Borders are Nocturnal Animals' at the Contemporary Art Centre

Until September 14, the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) is hosting the group exhibition Borders are Nocturnal Animals, curated by Neringa Bumblienė and Émilie Villez (architect: Gabrielė Černiavskaja).

The exhibition presents works by artists: Andrius Arutiunian, Beyond the post-soviet with Anna Zvyagintseva, Louisa Bufardeci, Shilpa Gupta, Danylo Halkin, Agnė Jokšė, Nikita Kadan, Nikolay Karabinovych, Zhang Kechun, Viktor & Sergiy Kochetov, Jiři Kovanda, Agnieszka Kurant, Sandra Monterroso, Ciprian Mureșan, Deimantas Narkevičius, Marija Olšauskaitė, Prabhakar Pachpute, Vandy Rattana, Christine Rebet, Christian Salablanca, Algirdas Šeškus, Emilija Škarnulytė, Slavs and Tatars, Anastasia Sosunova, Shimpei Takeda, Kota Takeuchi, Thu Van Tran, Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas, Aaron Young, Shen Yuan

Rooted in the geopolitical turmoil caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the exhibition explores the colonial histories of Lithuania and the region beyond, weaving connections into a broader international narrative. Three years after the full-scale invasion began, what forms of normality are possible in the shadow of the ongoing conflict, as we witness history repeating itself again? The exhibition highlights stories from different regions of the world and amplifies decolonial narratives long overshadowed by dominant power discourses.

The title is borrowed from Luba Jurgenson’s essay When we woke up. The Night of 24 February 2022: Invasion of Ukraine (Verdier, 2023): ‘Borders are nocturnal animals, they move while we sleep. We should always be vigilant.’ The exhibition focuses on the threat of invasion, the haunting spectres of past occupations, and the enduring systems of belief and language that carry resilience. The artists featured use imagination, poetry and ancestral wisdom as political tools, alongside more documentary approaches to navigate complex colonial histories, examine present realities, and envision possible futures.

The question of energy is approached through the power dynamics at play with natural resources – forces that shape policies and landscapes – where extractivism emerges as a recurring feature of colonial oppression. The ecological aftermath of exploitation and war is visible in works that document the toxic traces or scars left in the landscape that remain long after. Looking at the landscape transcends generations and evolves into a reflection on historical repetition and deep time. The exhibition also portrays energy as a spiritual drive, and turns to nature as a catalyst of resistance through pre-modern rituals and beliefs that also safeguard cultural identity.

Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai / Borders are Nocturnal Animals is the second iteration of an exhibition presented simultaneously at KADIST Paris and the Palais de Tokyo in autumn 2024, in the framework of the Season of Lithuania in France.

This edition is developed in collaboration with KADIST and includes an extensive selection of artworks from its collection, in dialogue with artworks by the artists included in the initial exhibitions in Paris.

Borders are Nocturnal Animals / Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai
Curators: Neringa Bumblienė and Émilie Villez
Architect: Gabrielė Černiavskaja
Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania
12.06.2025—14.09.2025

Photographer: Andrej Vasilenko

Borders are Nocturnal Animals / Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai’ exhibition view. Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius, 2025. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko

Nikita Kadan ‘National Landscape (House of Services)’, 2018. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko

Agnieszka Kurant ‘Sentimentite (Invasion of Ukraine 38/100, from Chapter 4: Reshaping World Order)’, 2022. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko

Shimpei Takeda ‘Trace #1, Kegon Falls’ and ‘Trace #10, Iwase General Hospital – Sugawara, Fukushima’, 2012. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko