4 April 2025

In the photographs of Levas Žiriakovas – “Creators”

On Thursday, 10 April, at 6 p.m., in the 5^th floor atrium of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, the exhibition of analog photography by Levas Žiriakovas “Creators” opens. The exhibition features portraits of Lithuanian and foreign artists captured in 1993–2023.

 “It is a common knowledge that humans are social creatures. They value other people and  relationships with them I am not an exception. I have been photographing people for a long time since I’ve always been interested in them. From my childhood, creative people have seemed special and very interesting to me. For a long time I believed they were exceptional beings. They have the ability to bring something to the world that didn’t exist before. Now I think that creative people are at the same time ordinary mortals who are able to tell something new about the world. I find this very interesting.

I have created these portraits for over a quarter of a century. There are both world celebrities and little-known artists here. What connects these people and these images? To me the “meeting” with what I photograph is very important. It is hard to explain the feeling that something significant is happening right now, as though we are getting closer to the invisible being of things and the world. The greatest success is when the trace of that connection remains in the image. It is precisely such photographs that I present in this show.

The exhibition features silver gelatin prints (traditional black and white photography). It was the most widely available type of photography when I first started taking photos. I learned and really enjoyed this process. Although similar results can now be achieved with digital technology, it is very important to me to print each photograph by hand. I cherish the chance to obtain the precise image I am after. It often takes quite a bit of time. The time spent with each shot helps me get closer to what is most important and get rid of unnecessary things.

I believe these images can be interesting both as documents of time and as an examples of photographic expression.”

Levas Žiriakovas

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Levas Žiriakovas (born in 1974, Vilnius) graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in Film and TV Cameramanship. He studied at the Department of Photography and Media Arts at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and in 2008 he obtained a Master of Arts qualification degree. He has been taking photographs since 1993. He participated in group exhibitions since 1998, and has been organizing personal exhibitions since 2000. He lives and works in Vilnius.

Graphic design by Akvilė Paukštytė.

Exhibition architecture by Algirdas Jakas.

The exhibition will be open until 8 June.

Briefly abaout the exhibition

Date

opening of the exhibition on 10 April at 6 p.m.
Exhibition on display - 10 April - 08 Juny 2025

Time

National library opening hours

Place

5^th floor atrium

Attendance

free

More information

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Important

the opening of the exhibition may be photographed and/or filmed