Raminta Dirsytė-Urbonienė
Exhibition “On Hold” 

I don’t feel that we live in a coherent narrative. It seems to me that such a thing no longer exists. One event follows another unexpectedly and in fragments – a new version of the world catches us unprepared each day. I want to blame speed, but I myself succumb to its power. A new sequence of events forms from restless thoughts and a tireless body. The body moves from doubt toward security, seeking shelter.

Homes are not cohesive. 
They must offer stability, 
but in reality, they constantly
change shape.

A sprouted nest, 
seen in the plains,
brings a jumble of thoughts  
into understanding.

As the form changes, 
the function is lost. 
A strange transition.
The new is unrecognizable,
all that remains is to wait.

Immeasurable waiting  
– possible 
only thanks to 
a strong desire for security.

I grab at straws –
I want to save the garden.
From the chaos of the straw line 
I construct a spell of closeness 
and calm.

In the construction of the assemblage of reality –
small measurements.
Square areas of exhalations 
record breaths.

I count the exhalations
and the distance from the center.
What remains unmeasured is 
the changing volume of the nest.

Light soap walls, 
marking the edges of the sphere,
materialize into 
apples filled with sweet filling,
hiding the inflammation at the bottom of the stomach.

A painterly gaze pulls us out of our usual existence, breaking down the signs of the local landscape. A shell of a world that provides shelter is constructed from apples, soap bubbles, and tangles of straw. Although painting is too slow for current events, it is slow enough for events that happened long ago. In this exhibition, images are suspended in a state of transformation. The time spent observing them is extended until they enter into a relationship with the viewer. This is yet another event that helps suspend, at least for a moment, the sense of transience that travels through the body. However, upon closer inspection of the images’ structures, it becomes clearer why they are so familiar. Perhaps they are not temporary but have long existed beyond time.