Belly-up Dream. What Do We Dream? A Dog or a Fish?

In March, Kaunas Artists’ House is launching an international program of exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and educational events Belly-up Dream (A Dog or A Fish?) that will run until the end of the year. The project will explore the multifaceted nature of sadness and ask what the happiness industry means to us as a society and whether it is not simply a certain reflection of a sad society. Do we really have to be happy to live a fulfilling life?

The first event of the program will take place on March 28 at the Kaunas Artists’ House where the three curators of the program – Agnė Bagdžiūnaitė, Edvinas Grinkevičius, and Asta Volungė – will present the entire year’s program, its participants, and the topic in detail. During the presentation, Agnė, Edvinas, and Asta will also read excerpts relevant to them from The Promise of Happiness – a book by the feminist writer and academic Sarah Ahmed, which became the starting point for the concept of the program Belly-up Dream (A Dog or A Fish?).

“Today, the pursuit of happiness has turned into an industry of esoteric practices and pharmaceutical experiments. It seems that we must constantly manifest happiness for it to eventually appear as salvation. Everything seems quite temporary and artificial. We are asked to dream of happiness that does not actually exist. Therefore, in the project we will aim to subtly criticize the industry of the doctrine of happiness imposed on us,” Agnė Bagdžiūnaitė, one of the curators of the project, says.

The first exhibition of the program will be opened on April 4. As stated in the description of the event, British artist Zoe Williams will invite you to enter the mysterious and sad mythological world of Eros. Here, the line between desire and despair is blurred, and the sad myth allows you to enjoy the vibrations of unpredictable life and dreamlike intimacy.

“Zoe Williams’ works are full of references to the works of Italian artist Carol Rama and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Carol Rama’s early watercolors, depicting ecstatic and constrained bodies amidst a surreal array of objects, inspire the artist to continue with the dream-like erotic scenario started by Rama. Pasolini inspires the artist with his rebelliousness and poetic criticism of fascism and religious dogmas,” Agnė Bagdžiūnaitė further introduces the program.

Zoe Williams lives and works in Marseille and London. Her practice spans a variety of art forms, including installation, moving images, ceramics, drawing, and performance, and her process and results are often intertwined. The artist is represented by the Ciaccia Levi Gallery (Paris-Milan), she has collaborated with various international institutions in France, Italy, and Germany. Well-known French and Italian art foundations have purchased her works.

After the opening of the exhibition, on the same evening, visitors will be treated to a musical performance by artist Sasha Wilde (they/them). The artist promises a ritual of vocal witchcraft inspired by personal experiences and pop music sounds. According to curator Edvinas Grinkevičius, Sasha Wilde’s practice is extremely diverse. It includes sound art and film, and explores such topics as monstrousness, death, and the occult.

“The artist bases their practice on personal experiences they gained while growing up in a small Lithuanian town, where they were accused of witchcraft and Satanism due to their unusual sexual identity and appearance,” the curator says.

The program of exhibitions and performances will be accompanied by educational events. “The joint melancholic program created by contemporary artists like Liliana Zeic from Poland, Žygimantas Kudirka, artist duo Liudmila, Ieva Rižė, Kristoffer Ala Ketola from Finland, Johhan Rosenberg from Estonia and Paulius Janušonis will be accompanied by educational events dedicated to the topic of sadness. With the help of these events, we will try to expand the program’s audience even more; we will aim to include other types of visitors in addition to the young people, who appear to be the main consumers of contemporary art,” Asta Volungė, the curator of the educational program, explains.

More information about the exhibitions and events of the program Belly-up Dream (A Dog or A Fish?) can be found here.