In the “Don’t Forget” exhibition, BNS news agency photographer G. Skaraitienė exhibits the 21st portrait, from which bright personalities of our culture and society look smiling or thoughtful: President Alma Adamkienė, actors Vytautas Šapranauskas, Regimantas Adomaitis, Donatas Banionis, theater director Rimas Tuminas, singer Virgilijus Noreika, composers Mikalojus Novikas, Faustas Latėnas, Algirdas Klova, artist Jūratė Rekevičiūtė, cinematographer and photographer Algimantas Mockus, film director Mantas Kvedaravičius, designer Agnė Jagelavičiūtė and others.
As the artist herself states, “a photograph stops, preserves a moment and gives immortality – after all, a person is alive as long as he is remembered.” This exhibition runs until December 18. can be visited in the art gallery of the Burial Services Center (Matulaičio a. 3 in Vilnius).
– You named this exhibition very symbolically and at the same time ambiguously – “Don’t forget”. How do you interpret this title yourself?
– It all depends on where you put the stress in this word. “Don’t forget” are these personalities who filled our lives with more light, meaning and joy with their work.
At the same time, this name is also a call not to forget those who were among us until recently, and we could enjoy their friendship. These photographs remind us of just that.
– But there may be another reading option: in the poster of the exhibition, the word “don’t forget” is divided into two parts “don’t” and “die”. So it’s a kind of reminder that you, looking at these photos, are also mortal.
“Oh, that’s a surprise to me – I hadn’t even thought about that.” Until now, I thought that this inscription on the poster was just a design decision, but now it turns out that it is another word code… It is impressive and very unexpected.
But on reflection, this is a very important reminder. After all, we are all mortal and our days are numbered. What to do with this fact? One can fall into despair, depression and lose the joy of life. But this is the truth and sooner or later each of us will have to face our own temporality.
Therefore, I am sure that once this is accepted and reconciled, the value of every moment, every encounter becomes simply priceless. Then you can enjoy life and the time you have more, as well as be more forgiving both to yourself and to the other person.
– Photography as a genre has a lot to do with memory – it is no coincidence that funeral photographs were very popular in the past, which were supposed to remind people of their departed loved ones.
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
– When I used to take pictures, I didn’t think about it at all – I just tried to make a maximally good portrait. The internal breakthrough happened a few years after the exhibition “100 portraits of real people”, which I organized for the centenary of Lithuania’s independence in 2018. By the way, this exhibition is still traveling around the country.
After some time, I began to look at these photos with different eyes and realized that five people out of that hundred had already left. Then I started browsing through my archives and discovered even more portraits of deceased figures in our culture that I managed to make. In the end, this exhibition of 21 portraits came together in this way.
By the way, working with these portraits was not as painful and sad as it might appear from the outside. I would even say the opposite – I was happy that these people lived, created, gave their work and energy, and we took inspiration from them for our own lives.
After all, a person is alive as long as there is someone who remembers him. In this sense, photographs have the power to recall the past and a specific person, his features. But a good photograph can do even more – it reminds and at the same time evokes the emotions that we experienced when we were with that person. In this sense, there is a kind of magic in photography.
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
– Why did you choose such an unexpected space for this exhibition – the foyer of a funeral home?
– It was very unexpected even for me at the beginning. But after thinking about it, I realized that a funeral home is a place where life and death meet in the truest sense of the word. In our everyday life, death is also always nearby, only we try to forget it and push it as far as possible. However, no one can avoid funeral homes, just like cemeteries.
Therefore, this place is the most suitable for such an exhibition: you can look at the photos, sit down and think about these dead people, and at the same time yourself – temporary and mortal.
– In the exhibition, you are exhibiting the 21st portrait of Lithuanian cultural figures. How did you choose these?
– At the beginning, we thought about a dozen portraits, but when I discovered much more in my archives, I didn’t want to throw anything away. After all, all these personalities are important, precious and exclusive in their own way.
I remembered several portraits even before I started looking for them in the archive. However, there were also very pleasant and unexpected discoveries, because I had completely forgotten about those portraits and the circumstances of the shooting. I may have better photos of some of these people in my archives, I just haven’t found them yet…
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
– Does the fact of death somehow change your own attitude towards specific portraits?
– Of course it changes. First of all, I am no longer looking for artistry in such photos, the emotion conveyed by the portrait of that person is much more important. After all, this is what gives life to the image of a person. I also look less obsessively at my work, at visual details – after all, a good portrait sometimes just needs a deep look.
This, by the way, is perfectly illustrated by the portrait of Algirdas Klova. Only after hanging the exhibition did I notice that no matter which way you look, his gaze constantly follows you with his eyes – just like in the old paintings. It shocked me and at the same time made me happy – it seems that he is looking from the photo itself and is still among us.
On the other hand, looking at these portraits now, I feel very sad and sorry that I won’t have the opportunity to meet these people again and communicate with them. And that I didn’t take the opportunity to make more good portraits while they were alive.
Greta Skaraitiene/BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t Forget” at the LPC art gallery
– What memories do these portraits evoke for you now? Can you tell me some fun episodes from meeting these people and photographing them?
– To be honest, I don’t remember the circumstances of some of the portraits at all. And from some photo sessions, only photos and emotion remain. For example, I don’t remember that walk on the abandoned roofs with the director Mantas Kvedaravičius, even though the photo shoot was not so long ago – ten years ago. I don’t remember what we talked about, so all that remains are pictures. By the way, someone told me that this portrait seems very prophetic – Mantas is immortalized among the ruins. I even shuddered from such juxtapositions…
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
I remember well how I made a portrait of the smiling Regiment Adomaitis – it is quite a cheerful story. That time I was at some kind of event and when I heard the actor’s voice behind me, I instinctively turned towards him to take a picture. When he suddenly saw the lens turned towards him, R. Adomaitis said without anger: “You need to warn before taking pictures, although I would say “cheez”. Then I told him that now is the time to say “cheez”. And he immediately flashed his signature smile.
But the problem was that it was quite dark in that place and the camera couldn’t bring up the brightness. I press the button and it doesn’t fire… I’m already sweating but still no shot. Meanwhile, R. Adomaitis, still smiling perfectly, says through his teeth: “Sooner…” So, in the end, it was possible to take a portrait of him smiling with a very long exposure.
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
The portrait of Agnė Jagelavičiūtė is unique to me in this exhibition. Mostly because she herself was a very charismatic person. As soon as she appeared at an event, the attention of all the photographers immediately turned to her – her aura was so strong.
That fame also came at a high price: I can’t imagine how Agnė herself could withstand all the dirt on social networks that was poured after the publication of each new photo of hers… That’s why I admire her strength and inner strength to this day: she is a true icon of our time – brave, charismatic, full of various ideas.
Greta Skaraitiene’s / BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t forget” at the LPC art gallery
– One of the last portraits in the exhibition is the writer Rolandas Rastauskas, who died suddenly just a few months ago. Is it true that you took this portrait on the eve of his death?
– His death shocked me, like many who knew him. This portrait was taken in the Town Hall – that evening two exhibitions were opening: commotion, meetings, hugs, conversations… I photographed R. Rastauskas as if he were among others, without thinking too much. Only the other day, after hearing about the sudden death of the writer, I looked at what I had photographed the night before and was extremely moved.
This last portrait of RoRa is very symbolic – a hug as if greeting, or maybe saying goodbye. This seems to me an important lesson – no one knows which of our meetings, hugs will be the last, so we should enjoy this day and every precious moment.
Roberto Riabova/BNS photo/Photographer Greta Skaraitiene’s exhibition “Don’t Forget” at the LPC art gallery
– When working in the media, photo shoots are often very quick and short. How do you manage to combine a photographic sprint with the goal of making a memorable, exhibition portrait?
– As soon as a photographer meets a person, he has to quickly assess the environment in which he finds himself, so that he can properly use it to make a portrait. This is quite a challenge, because time is often very pressing. Therefore, you need to be maximally prepared and attentive during photography.
Now the most interesting thing for me is to photograph a person not in some random space, but in his own home. Here he or she not only feels the best, but also the environment itself, things say a lot about the person himself. This gives you the opportunity to communicate more with that person, tame him, get to know him, which is also good for the portrait. I don’t shy away from photographing the interior of a person’s home, the details of their life – it says a lot about a person.
I value these acquaintances and meetings that the camera opens up for me as a great gift, and the people I meet and photograph become an inseparable part of my own life. True happiness is to touch, at least for a while, such personalities that others can only see on magazine covers or get to know through their work.
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