Eternal Flame

For to great dreamers of corners and holes nothing is ever empty, the dialects of full and empty only correspond to two geometrical non-realities. Gaston Bachelard The Poetics of Space Exhibition Eternal Flame marks Kamilė Krasauskaitė’s first solo show, featuring a site-specific installation, paintings, and a five-track sound work by composer Gailė Griciūtė created in collaboration with the artist. Places of power, whether natural landscapes or human-built sites, are repositories for mythical and personal narratives. It is believed that they can awaken dormant aspects of the psyche, evoke deep-seated emotions, aspirations, and fears, and provide space for healing and visionary experiences. These spaces often exude a tangible presence that engages the senses and creates a sensation of closeness or familiarity. Weary of the secular world, recurring nightmares and endless desires, pilgrims seeking these places of power yearn to expand their existence, experiencing what lies beyond the limits of cognition. Eternal flames typically manifest when underground natural gas deposits ignite due to heat and other factors. These deposits, found within geological formations such as shale, sandstone, and limestone, can be accessed through natural openings or drilling. These natural phenomena, evoking a sense of reverent awe and mystery, attract the interest of scientists, travellers, and those seeking spiritual healing. Natural springs, ancient trees, temples, caves, or perpetually burning flames are all places that come to life through our faith. Or perhaps it is the other way around? Could it be that they themselves create feelings of intimacy and infinity – through their tangible physical qualities and boundlessness, inspiring awe, transcendence, and connection to something greater than themselves? It is these very qualities that make these spaces channels for potential physical, mystical, or moral transformation. Kamilė Krasauskaitė (b. 1995) is a multidisciplinary artist and curator currently based in Vilnius. Her practice evolves into different formats, from installations and sculptures to paintings, publications, and social events. Kamilė is interested in preserving ancient crafts as a deep code to unlock connections with various levels of our everyday life, including indigenous cultures’ beliefs and practices. She is interested in place and space, exploring how certain spaces can supposedly bring physical, mystical and moral transformations to individuals, both human and non-human. Her recent group exhibitions and performance include Dismantling Dreams, Disrupted Seams (Rupert AEP 2023 final show); 18th Tallinn Print Triennial: Sourdough as a Metaphor (installation and a lecture-performance), represented by Slavs & Tatars Pickle Bar; The Sex Life of Fruit Flies, Low gallery, Riga; Boiling Boullion (with After Howl collective), L’Annexe Gallery, Paris. Since 2018 she has been working with the After Howl collective in Brussels where they co-created a multifunctional space for exhibitions, a night club, and a restaurant. Sound piece: Move oh my son, move oh my daughter, 2024 5 channels soundpiece, 18'40 Composer: Gailė Griciūtė Voice, text: Kamilė Krasauskaitė I’ll go and search these places one by one to remember very first breath pure water still water, flowing flame move oh my son, move of my daughter we’re all still there none of us forgot forgive me for all the dreams i wasted restore me to my first breath {we want to see and yet we’re afraid to see.} Composer: Gailė Griciūtė Prologue text: Jason Mohaghegh Light design: Justas Bø Technician: Matas Šatūnas Textual editing and translation: Alexandra Bondarev Special thanks to: Vitalija Jasaitė, Neringa Černiauskaitė, Kęstutis Krasauskas, Linas Žostautas, Pranas Gudaitis, Antanas Dombrovkij, Inesa Ulichina The exhibition is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City Municipality.