@gabriele_cern
Architecture and objectsgcerniavskaja@gmail.com@gabriele_cern
Borders are Nocturnal Animals
Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai
Jun 12 2025
Contemporary Art Centre
Šiuolaikinio meno centras
Šiuolaikinio meno centras
The exhibition architecture operates as a system of shadows—structures that do not dominate the works but hover above and around them, like nocturnal presences moving at the edge of perception. Dark, roof-like elements are suspended over selected constellations of artworks, casting uneven zones of shade across the exhibition floor. These shadows do not merely frame the works; they alter their visibility, rhythm, and proximity, creating a landscape where attention shifts slowly and nothing reveals itself all at once. From a distance, the structures resemble fragments of wings, echoing the exhibition’s title and suggesting borders as living, moving entities rather than fixed lines.
Rather than dividing the space into isolated rooms, the architecture preserves openness and air, allowing works from different geographies and histories to remain in dialogue. The shadows act as soft thresholds—neither walls nor barriers—under which artworks gather, speak quietly, and resonate across distances. This spatial strategy mirrors the exhibition’s curatorial logic: histories long kept in the dark emerge partially, unevenly, shaped by power, memory, and survival. The viewer moves through a terrain of partial visibility, where geopolitical tensions, colonial residues, and spiritual continuities overlap without collapsing into a single narrative.
In this setting, architecture becomes atmospheric rather than declarative. It does not illustrate borders but behaves like them—appearing, shifting, withdrawing. The shaded structures suggest vigilance rather than enclosure, aligning with the idea that borders move while we sleep. By casting shadows instead of building walls, the space allows artworks to breathe while remaining alert, held together by a quiet tension. The exhibition unfolds as a nocturnal landscape: attentive, unsettled, and awake to histories that refuse to stay still.
Rather than dividing the space into isolated rooms, the architecture preserves openness and air, allowing works from different geographies and histories to remain in dialogue. The shadows act as soft thresholds—neither walls nor barriers—under which artworks gather, speak quietly, and resonate across distances. This spatial strategy mirrors the exhibition’s curatorial logic: histories long kept in the dark emerge partially, unevenly, shaped by power, memory, and survival. The viewer moves through a terrain of partial visibility, where geopolitical tensions, colonial residues, and spiritual continuities overlap without collapsing into a single narrative.
In this setting, architecture becomes atmospheric rather than declarative. It does not illustrate borders but behaves like them—appearing, shifting, withdrawing. The shaded structures suggest vigilance rather than enclosure, aligning with the idea that borders move while we sleep. By casting shadows instead of building walls, the space allows artworks to breathe while remaining alert, held together by a quiet tension. The exhibition unfolds as a nocturnal landscape: attentive, unsettled, and awake to histories that refuse to stay still.
team:
Artists:
Andrius Arutiunian, Beyond the post-soviet with Anna Zvyagintseva, Louisa Bufardeci, Shilpa Gupta, Danylo Halkin, Agnė Jokšė,
Nikita Kadan, Nikolay Karabinovych, Zhang Kechun, Viktor & Sergiy Kochetov, Jiři Kovanda, Agnieszka Kurant, Sandra Monterroso, Ciprian Mureșan, Deimantas Narkevičius,
Marija Olšauskaitė, Prabhakar Pachpute, Vandy Rattana, Christine Rebet, Christian Salablanca, Algirdas Šeškus, Emilija Škarnulytė, Slavs and Tatars, Anastasia Sosunova,
Shimpei Takeda, Kota Takeuchi, Thu Van Tran, Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas, Aaron Young, Shen Yuan
Curators:
Neringa Bumblienė and Emilie Villez
Andrius Arutiunian, Beyond the post-soviet with Anna Zvyagintseva, Louisa Bufardeci, Shilpa Gupta, Danylo Halkin, Agnė Jokšė,
Nikita Kadan, Nikolay Karabinovych, Zhang Kechun, Viktor & Sergiy Kochetov, Jiři Kovanda, Agnieszka Kurant, Sandra Monterroso, Ciprian Mureșan, Deimantas Narkevičius,
Marija Olšauskaitė, Prabhakar Pachpute, Vandy Rattana, Christine Rebet, Christian Salablanca, Algirdas Šeškus, Emilija Škarnulytė, Slavs and Tatars, Anastasia Sosunova,
Shimpei Takeda, Kota Takeuchi, Thu Van Tran, Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas, Aaron Young, Shen Yuan
Curators:
Neringa Bumblienė and Emilie Villez
Architecture:
Gabrielė Černiavskaja
Head of the technical team:
Vsevolod Kovalevskij
Gabrielė Černiavskaja
Head of the technical team:
Vsevolod Kovalevskij
Technical Team:
Matas Janušonis,
Almantas Lukoševičius,
Kazimieras Sližys,
Matas Šatūnas,
Ilona Virzinkevič,
Lukas Strolia
Matas Janušonis,
Almantas Lukoševičius,
Kazimieras Sližys,
Matas Šatūnas,
Ilona Virzinkevič,
Lukas Strolia
Coordinator:
Mantė Valiūnaitė
Communications:
Monika Valatkaitė,
Liuka Jefremovaitė
Graphic design:
Vytautas Volbekas
Partners:
KADIST Paris
Palais de Tokyo
Institut Français
Institut Français in Lithuania
Mantė Valiūnaitė
Communications:
Monika Valatkaitė,
Liuka Jefremovaitė
Graphic design:
Vytautas Volbekas
Partners:
KADIST Paris
Palais de Tokyo
Institut Français
Institut Français in Lithuania