METALLOphone: Memory of the Place (2022)
It is the only international event dedicated to contemporary authorial jewellery in Lithuania, which is increasingly gaining importance both in the Lithuanian cultural field and in the international community of jewellery-makers. The theme of the sixth biennial is MEMORY OF A PLACE. In modern society, the themes of locality, slow living and discovering one’s roots are becoming more and more important. Every place we have been in for a long time affects us – and we, in turn, leave our mark on it. That is how historically significant cities become cultural palimpsests, full of references and hints that, in many cases, we can no longer decipher – but the memory they contain manifests itself in a variety of ways, unnoticeably seeping into our consciousness.
But memory lies not only in the world’s great cities; it is everywhere, in every place that becomes important to us, in every place we feel connected to. The memory of a small town, a lonely homestead or a room of teenage years also lies hidden in the walls, the air, the things left behind or in the view outside the window, which we then dream of in a completely different country many years later. The memory of a place is expressed both through the return to tradition and in the use of local, place-specific materials, as well as in the form of objects or buildings that are embedded in the memory of a person, family or even an entire generation. Local materials, unique shapes and important places can be communicated through jewellery and stay attached to our body forever. Places affect us, we affect places. We remember each other.
Participants
METALLOphone is harmonised by
Organisers
The Lithuanian National Museum of Art
Jewellery school-gallery Vilnensis
Partner
Vilnius Academy of Arts
The project is funded by
Lithuanian Council for Culture