Akmengyviai

The exhibition “AKMENGYVIAI” was born from my desire to look at stones as living objects of nature. Displayed in the hall of the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum, it naturally became part of a space where visitors usually encounter the living world. This time, however, I searched for life not in movement or breath, but in the shapes, shadows, textures, and surface marks of stone. In my photographs, stones become silent beings — creatures that can only be seen when one stops and looks closely. Within the museum setting, the exhibition created a subtle dialogue between the world of animals and stone as an ancient, silent, yet life-filled form of matter. In Lithuanian mythology, stones have long been seen as special objects connected with deities, rituals, and the world of ancestors. That is why I photograph them not only as natural forms, but also as spiritual signs that preserve memory and mystery. Through the rhythm of light and shadow, I sought to reveal their character, inner strength, and unexpected resemblance to living beings. “AKMENGYVIAI” invites the viewer to experience nature more broadly — not only through what moves, grows, or breathes, but also through what has stood silently for centuries. It is an exhibition about the vitality of stone, imagination, and our connection with the ancient memory of nature.