The painting series, the Song of Songs, is dedicated to the theme of love. In creating it, I have drawn on the Song of Songs text from the Old Testament, which in turn has also become an intrinsic element of composition and meaning of my work. It is an amorous chat between two individuals. Yet in my paintings, instead of involving man and woman, this conversation takes place between two females. I recon that love and intimacy have no sex, but appear to be universal feelings.
Within the cycle, I question the stereotyped concept of sexuality rooted in society, and heterosexuality as the sole acceptable form of intimacy.
My paintings are orchestrated from originally unrelated images of contemporary culture and religious symbolism, from excerpts from the Song of Songs and words describing intimacy from the Internet. I employed these images and texts to create my own, new message and new images of the intimacy of two individuals.
Laisvydė Šalčiūtė
It reflects my thoughts on gender stereotypes and the stereotyped concept of traditional family. It points to the ambiguity of the feelings like innocence and guilt, occasionally imposed on us by hetero-normative culture with its puritan values and attitudes, quite frequently resulting in homophobia and the desire to judge and label those with feelings and views beyond the vision of “the righteous life” advocated as the only possible and therefore mandatory to all.
Laisvydė Šalčiūtė
The photography series Strip Search looks at the fundamental human need for oneness and establishing the love relationship. In particular, I focus on the need of physical sensation as love aspect as well as discomfort and suffering caused by it.
The pictures record details of female body with short texts composed of human hair glued on her skin. This “growth” on wrong places of female body represents short, trivial, desperate messages on love, existential insecurity and anxiety.
Laisvydė Šalčiūtė
