Vaiva Botyriūtė
Preserved Time, 2022 - ongoing
Installation of Moving Image, Split Screen Display, 5” 0’ (looped)
Cynotypes on Linen, Toned with Black Tea, Beetroot, Untoned, Embedded in Resin with Lithuanian Wildflowers
I am a Lithuanian artist currently based in London, working worldwide in the mediums of moving image, photography, and printmaking. I have been operating commercially for over 5 years, working mostly in fashion, music, and tech industries. Recently my focus has shifted towards fine art practice and cinema.
In my latest work I am investigating my past, the connection with the first place I called home, its geopolitics, and my grandmother Milda, who now lives there alone, keeping all the memories of generations of my family alive.
My grandfather Jonas, passed away two years ago, at the age of 87, two weeks before my grandparents’ 55th wedding anniversary. I loved him very dearly, yet somehow, I always struggled to connect with him. His passing made me realise that I will never have a chance to change that. I will never be able to photograph him, to collect his stories (and there were so many). At his funeral, my mum told me that we feel sad for ourselves, for the conversations that we did not have, and will not have; for the time that was not spent together and will never be anymore, for the person that we did not get to know as much as we could have. She was right.
Preserved Time is a tribute, a memorial to the past, the present of my home, and my beloved grandma, the guardian of it. This work might be that last chance to reconnect with my heritage while the memories of this place, people, history, stories are still living through her.
Within my work, I regularly explore ideas that help me interpret and understand myself and the world around me. I am heavily influenced by feelings, memories, and personal experiences, and also interested in creating and telling stories of others; whether they would be real or fictional. My aspiration is to evoke emotions and sensations, or to inspire wandering, daydreaming and questioning. Experimentation is at the core of my practice as I always strive to explore different styles and concepts.
