It exists next to the present and past. The time which is gone. The people you met. The cities where you lived in the present moment. The eyes that you loved. Love, which faded away. Sorrow, which faded away. Moments. Sometimes they were long, and sometimes they were short. Some of them were caught by the tail. You always carry them with you. It is important not to get stuck in the past tense. It is different for everyone, and this one is mine.
I was born in Vilnius on 1 May 1976, right after the “Goodnight Children” TV show. It was Saturday, 9:10 pm, a public holiday. Mom was offered champagne. I was born in the Era of Stagnation under the leadership of Brezhnev. That year the supersonic aircraft Concorde took off for its first commercial flight. A magnitude 9 earthquake hit Guatemala and Honduras. Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the Winter Olympics. Cuba adopted its Constitution by a national referendum. The military of Argentina overthrew Isabel Peron. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the first Apple computer. The bloodthirsty Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia. The band Brotherhood Of Man from Great Britain won the Eurovision song contest with their song ”Save Your Kisses For Me”. Howard Hughes, a United States millionaire, entrepreneur, and aviator died in his 70’s.
And then I was born. That was the starting point of all of my past tense.
Aistis Mickevičius is a professional actor, radio and television presenter, publicist, and perfume designer, who has been actively creating olfactory (using scents) and visual art for a decade and organizing personal and group exhibitions of interdisciplinary art. In 2021 he released a collection of poetry and cartoon graphics of his early youth called “Past Tense”, which has become the inspiration for this exhibition.
