KAUNAS PHOTO outdoor exhibitions

The exhibition of photos at Chechnya square will take visitors back into August of 2008. During that time in Georgia two Russian military detachments crossed South Ossetia region and sparked conflicts which ended that two Georgian regions were annexation by Russia. The series of photography with short descriptions of authors experiences reveal what kind of feelings he had during his journey around Georgia.

Artūras Morozovas started his active work 9 years ago and every time he appears in the centre of the most important events. The best known series of works of this artist are created during the Ukraine conflict, trips in the northern part of Russia and Palestine. During the last few years photographer was making reportages about refugees in Lesbos Island, Greece, Macedonia, Austria and other countries. His photo camera did not skip attacks in Paris. A. Morozovas is constantly travelling all over the world and here is now in Lithuania, where he started creating a new series of works named “Gilyn į Lietuvą”. His strongest sides are intensive work and dedication for it as well as ability to rise problems of the world. Photojournalist earned various awards. His photo works were published in The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Newsweek, DailyMail, Le Nouvel Observateur and in others sources. Images and video footage, captured in Ukraine were used for a documentary film Winter On Fire which is available on NETFLIX. This film was nominated for The Academy Awards, or “Oscars”.

You can find more information about photojournalist Artūras Morozovas here >> 

© Michał Siarek (Poland) “Alexander”

In 2010 the government of the Republic of Macedonia started a project to revamp the country into the sense of connection with its alleged ancient roots. Would it be even possible to give the nation its pride by erecting monuments?

The very first thing that I saw in Skopje was the construction of a 25-meter tall figure of a warrior on horseback which, from what I later found out, was the statue of Alexander the Great. In 2010 the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia started an extensive project to revamp first the capital and then the entire country into the sense of connection with its alleged ancient roots. Alexander the Great, one of the most recognised and powerful rulers in the history was acclaimed the father of present Macedonian nation. However, modern Macedonia is a young post-Yugoslav, poorly developed country. Dream of the lost nobility was the spark that ignited minds on the both sides of the border. Over 2000 years after the collapse of the empire two countries started the dispute of origins and history as distant as illusory. But generations already been born as Macedonians, within two countries and three geographical Macedonias. Greece was strongly opposing any claims of the piece of history that, they believe, is exclusively Greek heritage. In order to protect its cultural consistence the government blocked foreign policy of the neighbour affecting isolation of the Republic of Macedonia. What was supposed to elevate the rising nation to its dignity broke its spine while the elected authority radicalised and began to rise concerns about the rule of the law within the country. Macedonian government engaged considerable public funds and serious propaganda apparatus to reinvent the tradition and stimulate national consciousness. Would it be even possible to create the hybrid identity and the establishing myth to give the nation its pride, by erecting monuments made of bronze or plaster? That leads to crucial questions such as what do constitute modern nations or who owns the antiquity - which is also the foundation of the western society. However the Macedonian question remains unanswered.

Michał Siarek (b. 1991), Documentary photographer, student at cinematography department at PWSFTviT in Lodz, Poland. Fascinated by the Balkan Peninsula issues he spent three years on his debut essay “Alexander” focused on myths, identity and nationalism in one of the ex-Yugoslav republics. Nominee for the 2016 Joop Swart Masterclass.

© Mindaugas Simankevicius (Australia) “The Urban Mangle”

I have always admired the way the drama of the ever-changing landscape evolves over time - with the shifting of light, the effect of wind, the viewing of different points of perspective. I am not content to capture one frozen moment alone but am driven to find a way of expressing the shift of time and place in that one image (without resorting to video or moving records). Photography is generally lauded with the honour of a single click and what is captured in that brief moment, yet seeing the work of David Hockney and his photo-collages opened a whole new arena of capturing a landscape for me. My images are a combination of many photos, taken from slightly varying angles and of course, across a short period of time. The combination of these many impressions create a juxtaposition of parts that make a whole, yet show the parts in various aspects of viewing. Clouds drift, tree limbs move, the cliche is no longer. These images are far from collages, as they are not assembled from varied images, but assembled from aspects of the same image.

“Urban Mangle” is a commentary on the collision of form, its materials, shapes and its position over time and space, reflecting on the shape of the beast that lurks within a structure and not focusing on straight documentation of an architectural piece.

Mindaugas Simankevicius (b. 1956) working as a graphic designer, electronic music composer, photographic painter. His father, Viktoras Simankevicius studied graphic and fine art in Freiburg at the L’Ecole des Artes - he was born in St Petersburg but at the age of one, moved to Vilnius where he grew up and went through school until around 17 until being displaced during WWII where he moved to Freiburg. In 1949, he emigrated to Australia where he met and married Mindaugas mother Dana Matulaityte (originally from Kybartai). Viktoras’ skill in drawing was highly regarded and he became a graphic designer/ commercial artist.

Mindaugas Simankevicius first language was Lithuanian but soon that was replaced by English.  First he studied electronic music for 4 years and then went on to study fine art at Prahran College in Melbourne. He began to be interested in the moving image and went on to Film and Television School where he explored the “noise” of imagery, using a camera lens to capture what he tended to call the “unseen”. Using the background of electronic sound, the foreground of moving textures, his foundations into the “unseen” was ratified. A need for commercial return led the artist to become a graphic designer where he has worked ever since, leaving his artistic endeavours as a passionate interest and self-development. The introduction to digital photography have landed him a tool in which now he explore the “unseen” through juxtaposition of image on image, giving the chance to explore Time over Position/Place, Space and Form, an homage to the early 20th Century futurist artists, the cubists as well as blending in impressionism along with Post-Modern impressionism.

© Paolo Fusco (Italy) “Oggi è la festa di..”

The venues where nowadays kids in Rome celebrate their birthdays

In the last ten years, birthday parties have changed a lot for kids living in Rome. When I was a kid, we used to celebrate birthdays in our parents' house, with a small group of friends constantly monitored by adults. Nowadays, the typical party takes place in small playgrounds, where everything is childproof and kids can have fun and play with few rules and minimal adult supervision. This change in habits implies a change in the way kids will remember their birthdays, that will always be linked to this kind of places and to the colors and images used there. This work aims at describing the esthetics of these parks and therefore the visual memories kids will have of their birthdays. The photos were shot in a number of playgrounds in Rome city area.

Paolo Fusco is a photographer based in Rome. His work mainly focuses on architecture and urban landscape, but often looks at social issues. He is a member of the Shoot4Change community, and his photos have been published on Domus, Ulisse Magazine, La Repubblica, Urbanautica, New Landscape Photography, Witness Journal, Living Roome, and elsewhere. His works have received prizes and commendments in national and international competitions and have been exhibited in venues such as the MAXXI Museum in Rome, the Somerset House in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, in Novi Sad.

Edis Jurčys "Crossing Waters", Vilkija, 2016

"Crossing waters"
a new social form of meditation

"Each time I travel I love observing the people around me. Most of my photography excitement comes during my travels on a ferry boat. Ferries travel across big waters, long distances, and people usually settle in their seats, socialize with each other or wander around. As a photographer, making circles around the ferry I try not to disturb other people lives.  There is so much I do not know about them. Each one has their own story, their own place and time. Why are they traveling, what are they going to see on the other side of the water? I will not learn this, even looking through my camera. When I take  photographs on the ferry I try to photograph everything that I see, details, reflections in the windows, water and seagulls. They all are part of this journey, it is like one story between two shore lines. The pictures have been taken on ferries in the USA: New York / New Jersey, Florida, Washington, Florida, also in Japan, Guatemala between 2000 to 2008."

Edis Jurcys

Edis Jurcys is based in Portland, Oregon. He works as a freelance photographer and videographer primarily on editorial assignments, design projects and documentaries. Most recently he has shot documentaries in San Francisco and throughout Canada, Japan, Israel, Italy and Lithuania. His work has been showcased in individual and group shows in Portland, Seattle, Lithuania, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Japan and New Zealand.

A native of Lithuania, Jurcys gained his experience in film and photography in Russia, where he worked for Moscow Newspapers as a photojournalist, studied film in VGIK, the Moscow Film School, and was a full-time cameraman with the Moscow Television Network for eight-years. He left for the USA at the moment of collapse of the Soviet Union.

During KAUNAS PHOTO festival 2006, “Crossing the Water” exhibition by Edis Jurčys was selected as the favourite of the audience.