Billboard, various dimensions

-2019-

In the early stages of my collaboration with the Kaunas Biennial, I drafted a proposal for an ambitious project; much to my regret, it could not be realized. In many cases, difficulties arise when trying to win over people from outside the art world as collaborators for my art works, which test and challenge ideas and perceptions. Sometimes though, I also encounter obstacles within my closer circle. In this case, after initial discussions with protagonists operating outside of the art context, the Biennial board did not consider my idea feasible. Accordingly, the curators requested a completely new concept. After some consideration, one sentence from the conversation with the curators struck me: “We would like to ask you to have another idea.” Paying attention to this sentence, it has at its core the idealistic goal of art itself: to send its audience on a transformative journey. 

Resonating with the Biennial’s title, “After Leaving | Before Arriving”, my new proposal was to rent two billboards along the motorway to display the curators’ request. This message, initially addressed to me, is enlarged, addressing all travelers on the motorway. Those leaving Vilnius read “We would like to ask you to have another idea”, and eventually continue the journey with something new in their minds. Just before arriving in Kaunas, a second billboard requests that they undergo another transformation. In the biennial, visitors then encounter a third billboard, presenting a photograph of the first billboard situated at the motorway: A billboard of a billboard. The blue background of each billboard is the exact complementary color of the yellow used for the Biennial’s corporate identity.