Interview by Rasa Barčaitė
“In my art, I try to search for common human levers that would allow different people to live in friendship and peace as much as possible,” says Kęstutis Svirnelis, a sculptor based in Germany, who opened his exhibition Boundaries and Margins in Vilnius gallery Meno Niša.
The exhibition of objects and sculptures Boundaries and Margins is the fifteenth solo exhibition of K. Svirnelis. After studying sculpture at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, K. Svirnelis received his Master‘s degree in Stuttgart, Germany, where he has been living for almost twenty years. The artist, who creates kinetic, moving interactive objects and installations, analyzes the themes of capitalism, consumerism, liberalism, democracy, man and his role in the system.
During the interview, Svirnelis talked about his current mood, the concept of the exhibition Boundaries and Margins, and life in Germany.
Kęstutis, your exhibition Boundaries and Margins opened at a very difficult time for the Ukrainian people, just as the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out. What thoughts are going through your mind at the moment?
War is a terrible thing because exploding bombs don’t discriminate between religion, gender, old or young age. We are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness, and at such a moment we need to remain rational, not to go into hysteria, and to see what we could do to make the best of this situation. We live between the East and the West, whose border has been sliding backward and forward for many years. It remains to be seen which way that border will now move and at what cost. We can only hope that it will all come to an end soon.
How are the German people reacting to this situation? How can artists contribute to the aid?
I think all normal people see this situation in the same way: there is no need for war, we need to resolve everything peacefully. How can artists contribute to help? They can help in any way: donate money, work, take in people from Ukraine. And more importantly, prevent war. This means being active in critical situations and putting pressure on politicians.
You’ve been living and working in Germany for almost 20 years now, and your home city is Stuttgart. What paths led you there?
In 2000 I won the student Art Days Prize to go to the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart for 3 months, where I received accommodation and a scholarship. At that time Stuttgart didn’t impress me as a city, but I liked the opportunities offered by the Academy of Fine Arts and the city’s cultural institutions. Nowadays, of course, you can fly to any European country at any time, cheaply, to see the Louvre or other famous museums, but 20 years ago it was much more difficult to travel, you needed visas, there was no money. Then I saw the opportunity to live in Germany, to study alongside famous artists, artworks, and to have good opportunities to make art myself. After finishing my bachelor’s degree in sculpture at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, I joined the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design and stayed there, getting my master’s degree.
What is the difference between an artist’s life in Germany and Lithuania?
The life of an artist in Lithuania and Germany is no different. Maybe most people think otherwise, but it’s not very easy for an artist in Germany either. The only difference is that the general social and financial level in Germany is higher, and so you are the same poor artist but at a higher level than in Lithuania. Of course, in Germany, there are many more opportunities to apply for various grants, projects, etc., but that’s normal because Lithuania has 3 million inhabitants, and Germany has almost 84 million. So, there is more of everything in Germany.
You are a Dzūkian from the village of Zervynai in Varėna district. You also don’t deny the influence of your Swabian German culture. How have these different cultures affected you as a person and an artist?
I try to take the best things from my environment, past and present, and live with them. Naturally, different environments have their influence, you adopt their culture. In Germany there is a very strong sense of citizenship, I learned to know that I am part of society. Of course, in Lithuania, when the Soviet Union collapsed, there was a burst of citizenship and patriotism, but it quickly turned into individual short-term turbo-capitalism. The Stuttgart Academy system was very different – you learn but you don’t get a diploma. They say, who needs a diploma as an artist, you have to make art. You are studying, therefore, you are immediately able to make art, even though you haven’t studied drawing, composition, or sculpture. There is more discussion than work. There is talk about how to have a career as an artist, how to present your art. And in Lithuania, I learned traditional sculpture, academic form, understanding of perspective. Now I am affected by both systems.
Tell us more about your exhibition Boundaries and Margins.
As far as the word “boundary” is concerned, I wonder where I see the boundary, what it is. What are the margins of the boundaries? And I’m not just talking about the fact that national borders have boundaries and margins – the border, the border zone – but also psychological moments, physiological, physical processes.
After all, the whole world is made of states of transition from one to another. Water, say, is in solid, liquid, and gaseous form. When does that boundary between states occur, when does water move from one state to another? There is also a psychological example – we move from joy to sadness, from sadness to horror.
However, my exhibition Boundaries and Margins is not research into what is and what is not a boundary. It is an expression of my visual language that does not define specific ideas or forms of expression. In the exhibition, the visitor sees a very clear object but doesn’t know exactly what it is or what it might mean. Maybe this, maybe that? The visitor is left to decide for themselves what it is. The more different interpretations the visitor has, the more successful the artwork is.
What is the line between what is possible and what is not, between beauty and ugliness? How do you navigate the margins of your boundaries?
The boundary is a fluid state. People live their lives, they are born small, die old. If it’s a normal life, the boundaries of what is possible and what is not possible also change in the course of that life. When you know more, have experienced more, have seen more of life, then the very understanding of good and beauty changes. For example, animals are slaughtered for meat. If you haven’t seen that, if you’ve been eating meat out of packages all your life, and if you then see an animal being killed for the first time, you will be disgusted. But if you grew up with it, you are not disgusted. So, context is very important. Same with me. I come from a poor village surrounded by forests, and now I’m living in Germany, where I have brought with me a very different rural experience. So, in the city, some things were disgusting for me at first, but then you get used to it, it becomes the norm.
Your work is very much an observation and condemnation of commerce, capitalism, and social inequality. Do you also express these ideas in your life?
Ideas need to be expressed in deeds, not theory. I try to live a social, human life, where I try to understand the situation I am in and how to react to it. I observe, condemn, and criticize unfair commerce, capitalism, and social inequality. Why is it that some countries, which have taken over the whole world, do what they want, and nothing happens to them, while others, when they try to raise their heads, are left with nothing? Just as America destroyed Iraq and Libya, Russia is now attacking Ukraine.
In my art, I try to look for common human levers that allow as many different people as possible to live in friendship and peace. And above all, it is an attempt to understand who I am, what the whole system around me is.
You are a creator of kinetic art, your installations and sculptures move, fall, make sounds, frighten, make the viewer laugh and think. At the same time, these movements harbor big social, political, and moral problems. Why did you choose the kinetic art form?
I didn’t choose kinetic art, it probably chose me. I made a couple of pieces in the beginning, I liked them, they worked, and so I kept making them. Kinetics, movement, is an additional element in a sculpture or an object that enhances my work. Often when I’m part of a group show, I’m given a bad place in some basement or in the dark. And they ask me, will it be OK? And it is, because the movement of the sculpture makes the object alive. And when there is something alive next to a person, something moving, in their subconscious/conscious they immediately look at what it is. It’s interesting that through all that movement, you can make a sculpture evoke different emotions: anxiety, disgust. Change the density of the movement, and the sculpture moves faster, it becomes funny.
What are your plans?
Last week in Germany, there was also the opening of a group exhibition in which I participated with my object. Another exhibition is currently taking place in Böblingen. If you want to make art, you have to hustle, that’s it. If it’s too much, you give up.
As far as future plans are concerned, I go by the saying – man plans, and God laughs. I plan to keep working, keep earning, keep making art that is interesting for me and the audience. I have my own workshop in Stuttgart, I’m going to have a solo exhibition in Lithuania and Germany next year, and I’m always looking for collaborations, both in Stuttgart, in Lithuania, in Europe, and around the world. And of course, to continue to be interested in the world and to express it in the form of art as I have understood it.
Thank you for your answers.
Gallery sponsor is Vilnius City Municipality
Exhibition partner is Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg.