Out of My Skin

The artist suggests that by trying to come closer to ourselves, or rather our self-image, we alter and modify our body, making all kinds of marks on it: with tattoos, piercings, clothes and haircuts, we tell stories about ourselves, communicate our values and identity, attract others’ attention to our body parts or conceal them. They are an imprint of control over one’s body, an aesthetic movement from the universal towards the exclusive (from just a body to my body). Minkutė inverts this axis: employing the body as a graphic stereoplate, she produces monotypes of skin textures that seem abstract at first yet are actually full of recognisable form, and assembles scanned images of the body into three-minute videos. The minimal, pulsating image brings the viewer close to a ritualistic and performative process that speaks of actually pressing one’s entire body against someone else’s and realizing that it is you and that is the way it will be. Focusing on bodily experiences, Out of My Skin seeks to blur the lines between media, find a new approach to graphic art, and question it through digital image capture.

Živilė Minkutė (b. 1990) is a young-generation artist. She graduated in Graphic Art from Vilnius Academy of Arts in 2015, and studied at the École Supérieure d’Art de Lorraine, France, in 2012-2013. Since 2012 Minkutė has been taking part in exhibitions, international projects, and residencies in Lithuania and abroad.

Organised by Vilnius Graphic Art Centre
Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Council for Culture, and Lithuanian Artists’ Association