Following on from his screening project in February 2015 this exhibition takes its title from Narkevičius’ new 3D film which will be projected in the ground floor gallery. 20 July 2015 (2016) was recently exhibited as part of Narkevičius’ 2016-17 solo exhibition at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and will be presented alongside his 2004 video Once in the XX Century. Within these two works, Narkevičius examines the consequences of representing political and social ideals in public space and what happens when a new political landscape is no longer reflected in the monuments of a city.
20 July 2015
20 July 2015 traces the removal of several Socialist Realist sculptures from the Green Bridge in central Vilnius over the course of one day. The eight figures served as a well-known landmark since their installation in 1952 and this film examines why the government sees their removal as a necessity so long after the political ideology that they exemplified has been repealed. This process of erasure is documented by Narkevičius using stereoscopic lenses and culminates with the final removal of the monuments at 2am on 20 July 2015.
Once in the XX Century
Once in the XX Century edits pre-existing footage Narkevičius acquired from the Lithuanian National TV archive with material from a freelance video reporter who documented the taking down of a public sculpture of Lenin in 1991. In his work the material is edited together in reverse so that the crowd of people appears to be gathered to celebrate the erection of the sculpture rather than it’s removal.
| Duration | 04 February 2017 - 05 March 2017 |
| Times | Wednesday – Sunday 11.00 am – 6.00 pm |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | Maureen Paley (Three Colts Lane) |
| Address | 60 Three Colts Lane, London, E2 6GQ |
| Contact | 4402077294112 / info@maureenpaley.com / www.maureenpaley.com |