-by Justina Speirokaite (curator at Improper Walls)

A time of farmhouse emptying or The Lost Home (official English translation) or Sodybų tuštėjimo metas (lit.) is the title of the 1970 book by Lithuanian writer Jonas Avyžius. And though the book has a different narrative, the words persisted in my head as they described the feeling I experienced. The lost home and landscape sink into oblivion together with the cultural memory and biodiversity.

In the summer of 2022, eight creatives went to the 14th biggest city in Serbia. During the relatively short-term residency program, the clear skies opened above us in contrast to the coal-stained smoky lid that vacuum seals the urban and rural landscapes during the cold time of the year. The most affordable way of keeping households warm isn’t the only harm the habitats in this part of the country are facing. Triggered by the escalating concerns of local and global activists about lithium mining in the area, moreover led by curiosity to exploit our own power as artists and curators for global survival efforts, we embodied the rather organic role for us of migrating Anthropos in order for another weighty look into the layer of our geologic time.

The summertime was perfect for experiencing the slowness of nature. If the tale goes on to change clouds or planets into living creatures,—to invest them with fair forms and inflame them with mighty passions,—we can only understand the story of the human-hearted things, in so far as we ourselves take pleasure in the perfectness of visible form, or can sympathize, by an effort of imagination, with the strange people who had other loves than those of wealth, and other interests than those of commerce, wrote John Ruskin, the 19th-century English writer and artist. Ruskin was a passionate critic of the industrial revolution and was greatly concerned about the consequences human actions in the name of progress will have. Fortunately, we could take pleasure in sensing the living with us while slowly giving us up on the possibility of symbiotic coexistence.

Being aliens among locals, we almost unnoticeably penetrated the beginning of the emotional connection with the communities, in urban and rural areas of our research perimeter. The scale of hospitality is absorbed within as a means of communication which often is unable to be verbal. By experiencing physical and mental satisfaction from eating and drinking, we learn a great volume of features of local culture and traditions. Therefore, the sacrality of nature and natural resources still co-exists here in symbiosis. The land provides everything essential in exchange for dedicated care for the natural cycles. The cycles are running here in circles, furthermore organically adapted by everything living.

In the event of the destruction of the circles of existence, all the living is facing extinction - lost home and lost habitat. We hear it and understand it emotionally as our senses have opened up a bit more. And now, what to do with this information and this unsettling feeling? We are rethinking our powers again. We have tools to use and we choose them accordingly. The goal is to reflect our experience, personally - by springboarding from emotion. Nonetheless, it is crucial to talk about important social issues responsibly. Art is more liked and appreciated than politics and so can contribute to the political discourse. In the end, we should never forget that art can also provide the optimism and visual pleasure. After all, our experiences are meant to inspire.

The art residency and exhibition “Migratory Anthropocene” took place in Užice, Serbia, in July 2022 and was followed up by the exhibition at Improper Walls gallery space in Vienna (September 2022). The topic of the Migratory Anthropocene aimed to develop an idea and better understanding of the local conditions. Artists and curators were introduced to Užice’s migratory and ecological background, where nature itself was the centre and main focus of artistic research.

Justina Špeirokaitė is a Vienna-based curator and cultural organiser, co-founder of the cultural platform Improper Walls, project coordinator at QUESTION ME & ANSWER, project manager at LT.art Vienna and one of the initiators of the BAL conference and organiser of the Migratory Anthropocene residency programme. In the last eight years, Justina has initiated, coordinated and implemented a number of art, cultural and social events. Her work as a curator explores areas such as social inequality, political injustice and cultural identity under the influence of technology, globalisation and cultural memory.

MIGRATORY ANTHROPOCENE. Reflections