“Sound is constantly moving, changing, transforming. In a way, it can be called humble. In order to become, sound has to surrender completely. The drift without a river is the movement of becoming. An experience of togetherness, an attempt to come closer, to share and to observe the conditionality of the separation between us.”
This is how the artist duo Eye Gymanstics (Gailė Griciūtė and Viktorija Damerell) invited us to immerse ourselves in the experience of sound. They looked at Kaunas through the experiences of the city’s communities, professional and amateur collectives, and deaf people playing music together, combining their different voices, timbres and emotions into a single work, a swarm of sounds that blurs the boundaries between those who participate in the recording and those who listen to it.
The translation of the work’s libretto into sign language allowed the installation to be experienced by the hearing impaired.
“Through sound, touch, smell and sight, through memories and imagination, we come closer to each other, and through others to ourselves.”
Artists: Eye Gymnastics (Gailė Griciūtė and Viktorija Damerell)
Consulting artist: Paulius Jurjonas
Sound engineers: Gabrielė Griciūtė and Andrius Mackevičius
Consultancy for the design and production of the furniture textiles: Ani Gandžumian
Duration of the work: 30 minutes.
Performers and excerpts from compositions:
– Teatronas theatre (Gildas Aleksa, Kristina Marija Kulinič, Jokūbas Tulaba). Surežisuota misterija „Pėdos marių dugne pristato: Kaip Perkūnas iš giedro dangaus“
Artists and excerpts from compositions:
– “Teatronas” Theatre (Gildas Aleksa, Kristina Marija Kulinič, Jokūbas Tulaba). The staged mystery “Footsteps at the Bottom of the Lagoon presents: Like Thunder from the Clear Sky”
– Folklore ensemble “Samylų Senoliai” from Samylais Culture Centre in Kaunas district (director Gražina Gutmanienė). The song “I’ll measure the bottom of the lagoon” from the flooded villages of the Kaunas lagoon
– Kaunas Culture Centre men’s choir “Perkūnas” (director Romaldas Misiukevičius). “The Hour of the Winds”, music by Raimonds Pauls, Lithuanian translation by Aušrinė Zulumskytė
– Kaunas Culture Centre Mixed Choir “Kamertonas” (director Kęstutis Jakeliūnas). “Our Land”, music by Sauliaus Petreikis and Donatas Petreikis, lyrics by Rimvydas Stankevičius, arrangement by Rimvydas Mitikus
– Kaunas State Choir and Kaunas Symphony Orchestra
– Kaunas State Music Theatre Choir and Orchestra
– Kaunas Deaf Community
Until 15 September. Eye Gymnastics exhibition “Drift Without A River” at Kaunas City Museum.
Photography: Alanas Gurinas