Rasa Justaitė-Gecevičienė | TOXIC GARDEN |

Until July 10, the solo exhibition "Toxic Garden" by Rasa Justaitė-Gecevičienė will be open at the VDA Artifex Gallery (Gaono St. 1, Vilnius). A ceramic / living laboratory with modified objects. // One of the main aspects of my work is the synthesis of biology and art, but in this project, it takes on a more philosophical tone. In this context, toxic plants are not just biological objects. Toxicity here is understood not only as a chemical property, but also as a cultural and emotional state. I constantly work with plaster molds taken from real plants and various objects. I cast plaster molds so that we can clearly see the surface of the plant and its texture. Later, I use clay stamping and casting techniques with different clay bodies, and the shaped and multiplied objects turn into new plants and landscapes. This process resembles preservation – as if I were freezing time, preserving the surface, texture, and traces of growth. In this creative and technological process, the stories of the plants – where and how they came to me – are no less important. Friends flew monstera fruits to me from India, because in our climate zone these plants do not bear fruit, only impressive leaves. Magnolia fruits came from the gardens of Rome. A broccoli that I managed to grow in my own garden (just one!). An artichoke from the shop, which I spent so long choosing that people around me started asking for recipes. I had to confess – I was only interested in the shape, not the culinary art. I really like that some fruits have animal names – for example, snake fruit or dragon fruit. However, by copying and multiplying forms in clay, I no longer create natural plants, but their mutations – new organisms born from memory and material. In this way, the garden becomes an artificial ecosystem where the natural and the artificial intertwine, and toxicity can be both biological and conceptual. Some ceramic objects are placed in glass cylinders resembling laboratory

Adresas: VDA galerija