Gentle Word (Švelnus Žodelis)
2021
Collage, Variable dimensions.
Materials: Sticky foil, water based paint, sticky paper
Collection: Courtesy the artist.
For her project commissioned by M HKA, the artist incorporated the Samogitia dialect from the region where her family originates. Samogitia (in Lithuanian Žemaitija) is one of the five regions of Lithuania, and the last to become Christianised in 1413. This area has a long and distinct cultural history reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect, considered by some linguists as a separate language. The dialect is rapidly declining due to not being used in the local school system, and could be considered as one of the Eastern Baltic’s dying languages. Rojūtė is just one of community members who has forgotten the dialect. This notion of displacement or erasure of the past has informed part of Rojūtė wall painting. The artist recalls extracts from conversations with her own father who could still communicate in Samogitia. Folk wisdom reflects mental states and anxiety passed on among family members.
