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Sun of the Wolves


Elm, ash tree, granite, iron, concrete
2022

Skuodas city park, Lietuva

I borrowed the name of the sculpture from the religious scholar, essayist and prose writer Gintaras Beresnevičius (a collection of his essays – “Vilkų saulutė” (EN Sun of the Wolves) – was published in 2003). According to him, the Moon was called the Sun of the Wolves in folklore. Supposedly, Southern Balts (which is us) used to transform into wolves for a few days a year. In one of his essays, entitled “Vilkų saulutė”, Beresnevičius writes about the almost “absurd” belief that we have when the desire or longing acts like a nuclear reaction. “In this sense, our country is on a par with the continent” – the text says.

In my sculpture, this idea is metaphorically embodied by a heavy granite disc suspended between two ash tree columns. It is a kind of misunderstanding, a contradiction to the logic offered by materials and to the laws of physics prevailing in nature. The work uses sculptural means to create a strange tension and a sense of anxiety. This sculpture is a kind of gateway, a transit medium that speaks of the act of becoming. What were we like in the past? What are we like today? What will we become in the future? These questions are important in the formation of self-awareness. The sculpture encourages the viewer to ask himself – am I willing to step under the shifting granite full moon in order to move forward, or will I stay where I am?

Photo: Monika Penkutė

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