The exhibition RITUAL brings together the works of Lithuanian and Estonian jewellery artists Remigija Vaitkuté and Anne Roolaht, highlighting slow and quiet actions, seeing them as a valuable form of contemporary resistance.
A stone is the touch of time, and a book is a trace of thought.
Some collect fragments of the earth, others traces of thought. In one case, pieces of the universe and time; in the other, words and experiences. In a fast and noisy world, reading a book or bending down to pick up a stone becomes almost an act of rebellion. These are calming and deeply necessary rituals that speak of a desire to touch what remains when everything around us is in constant change.
In the process of reading, a person quietly encounters another world and, at the same time, oneself. Each page becomes more than text: a mirror for thoughts, fears, dreams, and hopes.
Through collecting stones, one refuses to submit to the dictate of constant noise. While gathering stones, a person forms a quiet connection with the universe, with time, and with the immeasurable. By consciously collecting moments, one may come to understand, even if only slightly, the nature of life.
True transformation occurs when a stone and a read text become a piece of jewellery and a part of oneself. Then collecting becomes ritual, and ritual becomes creation: collecting evolves into not only a means of preservation, but also a way of creating new worlds.
Anne Roolaht (1959) is an Estonian jewellery artist who graduated from the Estonian State Art Institute (later the Estonian Academy of Arts) in metalwork. She works as a freelance artist and is a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association and the Estonian Association of Metal Artists, while also teaching art at Viimsi Art School. Roolaht has been exhibiting since the late 1980s both in Estonia and internationally, including in Finland, Sweden, Iceland, England, and Ireland.
Remigija Vaitkuté (1962) is a Lithuanian metal artist and lecturer who studied at the Telšiai School of Applied Arts and graduated in metal art from the Estonian State Art Institute (now the Estonian Academy of Arts). Since the 1990s, she has been working as a professor at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Vaitkutė has been exhibiting since the late 1980s and has participated internationally in both group and solo exhibitions.
Exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
