An exhibition of photographs by Rimaldas Vikšraitis and ethnographic toys titled “A Return to Childhood” is opening at the Vincas Kudirka Museum in Kudirkos Naumiestis.

Rimaldas Vikšraitis is no stranger to the subject of childhood, but it was never a deliberate creative choice for him. This exhibition seeks to assemble individual photographs into a mosaic that recounts the story of childhood. Despite its somewhat fragmentary nature, the artist is easily recognizable here: For some, as the winner of the 2009 Discovery Award at Europe’s largest photography festival, the Recontres d’Arles, and to others as an ordinary local resident who enjoyed his hobby of photography.

Time passes slowly in Vikšraitis’ photographs. The everyday life of children is no exception. It seems as if the images were captured much longer ago than they actually were. Reflections of poor and simple provincial life transport our thoughts to ancestral times, when love for children and the time devoted to them was measured differently. When childhood was different.

Vikšraitis captures relationships and the relationship with childhood itself, sometimes providing direction, other times with mockery or exposing pain, but never superficially. His images are powerful and captivating, leaving no viewer indifferent, because each person can find themselves within them.

This exhibition demolishes the myth that sensitive, aesthetic images of daily life are not typical of Vikšraitis’ work. That to be Vikšraitis-like is to be unsettling. The truth is that reading Vikšraitis’ photographs is not easy, but once you take the first step, the second will be much easier.

The exhibition also presents 141 items from the museum’s collection of children’s toys. These include miniature models of work tools, toy furniture, vehicles, and household items, crafted between the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The exhibition will open at the Vincas Kudirka Museum on 24th November 2024 and run until 1st June 2025.

Creative team

Organizer
Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus

Curators
Jolanta Bernotaitytė, Lina Bukauskienė

Architect
Giedrė Narbutienė

Graphic designer
Jurga Karosaitė

Coordinator
Vida Palionienė

Communication
Živilė Stadalytė

Editor
Nijolė Deveikienė

Translator
Darius Sužiedėlis

Sponsors and partners

Sponsor
Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministerija

Partners
Lietuvos fotomenininkų sąjunga
Šakių rajono laikraštis „Draugas“
Vilkaviškio krašto laikraštis „Santaka“