15 December—1 January, 2014

a room in the west weald

korumpas plakatas_web

The Gardens are happy to announce a screening of a video made by two Lithuanian artists Liudvikas Buklys and Gintaras Didžiapetris featuring Nicholas Matranga in a main role.  The three artists are working in a close collaboration for the first time, though they have already met each other in the streets of Vilnius and collective exhibitions. At the moment the video is being shown in the group exhibitions Underground at KIM? in Riga and Vilnius Pavilion at NCCA in Moscow.

Hinting on the formal qualities reminiscent of those of the Structural film, this video is a product of digital environment in the age of celebration and repetition: “and time here is divided into bands of light”. A man under a name (or a nickname) Korumpas lives through such contemporary conditions in the city of Vilnius. His name is an artists-made neologism standing for a corrupted man or even the corruption itself. Nicholas Matranga comments on the genesis of the character he impersonates: “At some time, in the early 90s, I was approached by a scheme to manipulate telephone calling cards. My plan, and that of my associates, was to skim minutes off of these pre-paid long distance telephone cards; by buying in minutes in bulk from the telephone company we could make great savings, and not one that we would pass off to the consumer. We intended for the cards to overcharge on the minutes being used, and thereby retaining as many minutes as possible for ourselves and thus allowing us to sell even more cards with fewer and fewer minutes.”

Liudvikas Buklys (b. 1984) lives and works in Vilnius. Recent exhibitions: Underground, KIM?, Riga (2013), Vilnius Pavilion, NCCA, Moscow (2013), 9th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2013), 55th Venice Biennial, oO Cypriot-Lithuanian pavilion (2013).

Gintaras Didžiapetris (b. 1985) lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania. Recent exhibitions: Underground, KIM?, Riga (2013), Vilnius Pavilion, NCCA, Moscow (2013), Armchair Light Tea Transit, Elisa Platteau, Brussels (2013), 55th Venice Biennial, oO Cypriot-Lithuanian pavilion (2013), Color and Device, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (2013).

Nicholas Matranga (b. 1983) lives and works in Vilnius. Recent exhibitions: Underground, KIM?, Riga (2013), Vilnius Pavilion, NCCA, Moscow (2013), Utrecht sidewalks and other thoughts, Wild West Active Space, Maastricht (2013), Sput, The Gardens, Vilnius (2013), Nicholas Matranga and Robin Vanbesien, San Serriffe, Amsterdam (2013).

The video is screened Wednesday—Thursday, 5-7 pm or by appointment info@thegardens.lt

Supported by Ministry of Culture of The Republic of Lithuania