In Roma Auskalnyte’s exhibition Effort Towards Stillness at Hippolyte Studio, the artworks are united by the artist’s body and the attempt to record movements and gestures. Throughout the photographic works, Auskalnyte tries to imply actions that are not fully concluded, barely shown, and represented by a single, paused moment.

The exhibition consists of several digital photographs, brass castings and a short video work. Some of the photographs transcend their traditional presentation, adopting almost sculptural forms and compositions. Each of the individual works becomes part of one underlying idea: a suggestive performative moment – an image that does not clearly explain the action but instead highlights specific details of it.

The Effort Towards Stillness is just that–an effort–something that is reflected in the video work titled Tears. The piece depicts “a love and care of familiar walls”, a phrase that according to the artist is often associated with a sense of soothing and attentiveness. The text printed on the hands echoes the tears imprinted on the face – a reminder that the love and care of familiar walls might not always be what is expected or hoped for.  The photograph Wake Up! captures a dreamy moment interrupted by the painful instance of waking up. Auskalnyte drew inspiration from the 1958 song All I Have to Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers, particularly from the lyric, ‘I am dreaming my life away.’  The work Layers was inspired by a detail in the painting The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, where a disbelieving hand seemingly questions whether things are real. Layers presents Auskalnyte’s own hands wondering what her body consists of and questioning what is real.

Roma Auskalnyte (Lithuania 1988) lives and works in Helsinki. Her main activity is focused on interdisciplinary art. She tends to experiment with different media from printmaking and photography to performance and sculpture looking for the right way to express her ideas. In her creative works, Auskalnyte explores the body, particularly its “fleshness” as material. She searches how to actualise and analyse it and its surface, how to work with it and on it. Auskalnyte actively participates in local and international exhibitions, and her works have been exhibited in and acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Finland) and the Grand Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille museum (France), as well asvarious private collections. She has exhibited work in museums and galleries in Helsinki and abroad.

A record of  Auskalnyte’s previous artistic activities and portfolio can be found at www.roma-auskalnyte.eu

The exhibition is supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike).
Special thanks to: Herttoniemen taidevalimo, Dialab Oy, Kestutis Dovydaitis (“Skulpturos Plastika”)

Roma Auskalnyte
Effort towards stillness
Hippolyte Studio
7.6.–30.6.2024

kuva: Roma Auskalnyte, Wake up!, 2020