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As it is written in the presentation of the exhibition “4 m² of freedom”, the author opens small isolated worlds distributed by Lithuania, the prisons, their cartography, the environment of the prisoners and the daily life.
However, the inhabitants of these worlds are partly created by the photographer’s faces, tattoos and other characteristics, by anonymity, which makes them recognizable.
“Two panoptic systems, prison and drone, were fatally found in these photographs. These are two means of control, biocontrol, surveillance and human dismay, which in A.Repšis’s works acquire the principle of mirror reflections and radically visualize the techniques of slavery.
We see poor, geometrically sharp, closed prison yards that are once again imprisoned from above through the eyes of an impunity drone who observes the banal daily life of prisoners.
A prisoner can find at a glance only the flight of a bird or a drone. In this way, the worlds of unlimited freedom and the optics of the imprisoned body intersect.
On the other hand, there are other important but immediately noticeable messages in these photographs. If drones have access to the most secret, everything else, more precisely, our privacy, patios and houses, rest areas and beaches, sex in nature, extreme actions and all other public passions potentially become the target. from the drone, they fall into your sight and lose the essence of the individual. privacy.
In addition, drone optics marks the beginning of a new ethic in war and business, culture and art. However, we still don’t know what ethics it is and what forms it will take. As always, artists save in such a situation. They research and experiment, offer futuristic scenarios, fantasize and take risks.
This opens other routes to experience and understand reality. They broaden your horizons and give you courage. We can enjoy the daily life of the prison courtyards, empathize with the rituals of people trapped in the circle of eternal recurrence, we can feel the omnipotent divine eye.
Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min photo / Andris Repšis exhibition “4 m2 of freedom”
But we are also given the opportunity to reflect on the expansion of universal voyeurism, on the dangers of impure pleasures. The heavenly view turns people into objects, targets, schemes, therefore it is very easy to destroy them with optical rockets or drones: kamikazes, ”says Lithuanian art critic and theorist Virginijus Kinčinaitis.
How 15min to life said A.Repšys, about three years ago he had to photograph objects near prisons.
“Since the drone is something that many people fear these days, especially next to prisons, so that there are no problems, I called the Prison Department to discuss how I could do it,” said A. Repšys.
Then, according to the artist, the idea arose that it would be possible to take photographs not only of the prisons, but also of the prisons themselves.
“But at that moment everything ended and the idea did not disappear. Why? First of all, the flight, whether with a bird, with a drone, whatever it is, is associated with freedom. And there is the opposite : captivity. So it was interesting to see” – A.Repšys spoke.
In addition to thoughts of freedom and captivity, Andris also had other professional thoughts. He thought that such a project would be interesting not only with images, but also, let’s say, with a shadow play.
Photo by Andrius Repšis / Lithuanian incarceration institutions at the Andris Repšis exhibition “4 years of freedoms”
“This is how I began to speak to the Prison Department for acceptance. They immediately contacted me cautiously. I had never heard of anything being done anywhere in the world: photographing prisons with a drone and putting on an exhibition. A little later, I showed the department my photos taken by the drone, they looked around and the idea turned out to be interesting to them.
So we signed a contract whereby I got permission to fly whenever I wanted, only with prior notice. It was necessary to avoid being knocked down. “, Said the photographer.
Andrew flights lasted about two years. According to him, he wanted to photograph Lithuanian prisons without haste, at different times of the year.
“What is the feeling? The feeling is that I really don’t want to be there. It does not matter that they do nothing there, do nothing, they are taken care of. People who saw the show said: there are (basketball) fields there, they play there, nothing works … So I ask: would you like to play here?
It is difficult to express that feeling. There were times when I didn’t understand what was going on and what was going on. While photographing, I saw a photo of people walking from wall to wall. A quick step, but only from wall to wall, outdoors. I saw a lot of basketball courts. You can see which ones are well equipped and which ones are not, “said A.Repšys.
By photographing the prisons, A.Repšys droned the drone while outside the territory, because he would not have been able to enter: it is like a management tool. At the only institution, Lukiškės, I only came from within, ”said A.Repšys.
According to the author of the exhibition, it seems that all prisons are similar or that the images are repetitive.
Photo by Andrius Repšis / Lithuanian incarceration institutions at the Andris Repšis exhibition “4 years of freedom”
“Suppose there is a series of photos of basketball courts. They are all somewhat similar, but at the same time different.
My drone is with changing lenses. If I see that an action is taking place in some country, something is working, people have put on a lens that can be more attractive, I have risen above their heads, “said the interlocutor.
Introducing the exhibition, Andrius says photographing prisons is the strangest thing he has ever photographed with a drone.
“From above, I photographed a long time ago. He belonged to the club “Feel the power of flight”, where pilots and pilots flew balloons. That is why the view from above is not so special to me. But there was no architecture, no nature, no landscape here.
The possibilities of modern drones, when you don’t have to think it will break or something will happen, give me the freedom to look for something unusual and interesting, ”said A.Repšys.
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