Anastasia Sosunova, ‘Barry Walking Himself’, 2019. Photos – Margit Lõhmus ©
A solo show by a Lithuanian artist Anastasia Sosunova ‘Barry Walking Himself’ was opened in Kogo gallery (Tartu, Estonia) on November 22th.
‘Once, scrolling through the social media group for a small Vilnius neighbourhood, I came across a photo that had been posted of a solitary dog who was rambling around the block.’ says the artist. ‘Among the gel nail offers and parking complaints in the group feed, this one stood out. The author of the photo asking ‘Did anyone lose their dog?’ was instantly introduced to Barry in the comment section below – ‘Please meet Barry, our neighbourhood dog walking himself’; ‘It’s Barry, and he’s OK’. I thought that Barry could join my collection of stories about unsung heroes. It’s no secret, I like stories.’
Anastasia Sosunova: “Barry Walking Himself” ©
In the show, Barry becomes a symbol of the collective care and distorted places we inhabit. By employing contemporary myths and real-life stories, Anastasia Sosunova searches for the most suitable visual language to articulate ideas of exception and gentle openness, the unknown, the unforetold, the unproven. Territory and the coexistence of entities in it are pictured with walls giving up their impregnability and gripping objects that are leaning on them. A vague territory, where pigeons are eating pizza, lawnmowers are free-roaming the yards, teenagers playing with glimpses of fire, and loud confessions being made on public transport. All are there, fitting in this strange organism which embodies the idea ‘that nothing is settled, that everything can still be altered, that what was done – but turned out badly – can be done again’*, and then – repurposed in multiple inventive ways.
Anastasia Sosunova: “Barry Walking Himself” ©
Anastasia Sosunova (b. 1993) is a visual artist based in Vilnius. Sosunova holds a BA in Graphic Art and an MA in Sculpture from the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her multidisciplinary practise comprises of video, installation, sculpture and graphic art, translates between scales, manipulating personal stories and subtle material gestures, following through their entanglements in vaster tales. These are tales about how communities and identities are formed, subsist and come undone. Often this is a practice of noticing and knowing intimately our contexts and how we interact with them. Her recent exhibitions and screenings have taken place in countries like China, the UK, Czech Republic and etc. She received ‘Young Art 15’ award for the best artwork – experiment, in 2016 received an educational grant for assistance in Laure Prouvost studio in Antwerp Received from Lithuanian Council for Culture, in 2018 she won a JCDecaux prize for the best artwork by a young artist.
Anastasia Sosunova: “Barry Walking Himself” ©
The exhibition is a part of the international exchange between (AV17) gallery in Vilnius and Kogo Gallery in Tartu, Estonia. Kogo is a contemporary art gallery representing outstanding emerging and mid-career Estonian and international artists of all media. Next year (AV17) gallery will present an exhibition by an Estonian artist Kristel Saan.
The exhibition in Kogo gallery will be open until January 11th.
The exhibition is supported by Lithuanian Council for Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, city of Tartu.
Anastasia Sosunova: “Barry Walking Himself” ©
Thanks to Achterhaus residency, Franziska Nast, Yates Norton, Jeronimas Seibutis.
*Essay ‘The Unthinkable Community’ by Paul Chan: https://www.e-flux.com/journal/16/61274/the-unthinkable-community/. A version of this essay appears in the forthcoming catalogue self-published by The Front collective in New Orleans.
