2025 03 19 – 04 27 Exhibited at Photography Gallery (Vasario 16-osios str. 11)
Opening March 19, 5.30 p.m.
„Nine enthusiastic amateur photographers founded and officially registered the Panevėžys Society of Photographers in April, 2010. Over the years, the number of members, plans and ideas changed, but the love of photography did not allow it to go astray and disintegrate. The experience was accumulated, exhibitions organized, work completed and places visited together with colleagues increased.
Commemorating societies’ 15th anniversary we remember the beginning, while highlighting today’s creative and interesting team, which unites 36 members who are different, but firmly united by friendship and photography.
Twenty authors with 31 works are participating in the anniversary exhibition. The title of the exhibition „No to Eggs” accommodates various symbolic meanings of the egg, and this allowed everyone to express themselves, to show what is important and exciting, to examine visible and hidden things.
As, according to the legends of many people, the world (egg) was born out of chaos, so we try to collect various ideas, interpretations and, after purifying them, unite them and present them in this exhibition. The egg is one of the oldest symbols of the world, which has survived to this day, and has also become an image of Christ’s resurrection and rebirth. The expression “ab ovo” is also known – „from the egg”, meaning „from the beginning”. It originated in ancient Rome, where feasts began with the eating of boiled eggs.
The egg has an interesting history and ambiguous symbolism. So, it can be examined in several aspects – both as a physical and as a symbolic, sensual object, which allowed different authors to freely interpret, looking for the revelation of the theme through their inner world and experience.
If, on the one hand, the egg is a symbol of rebirth and life with extraordinary magical power, on the other hand, it can also have a negative, even contemptuous meaning. The meanings of an egg are uniquely reflected by the following Lithuanian phraseology – “eggshell not worthy” (means, good for nobody), “did you cook the egg?” (said to one who is in a great hurry), “the egg would not fall from the head” (about slowness), “just hatched from an egg” (unripe, young), “as with eggs” (a very strong woman or a slow man), “protects like an egg” (pampers).
Rejoicing in the world’s development and continuous renewal, the perfect beauty of nature, we are not afraid to say „No” to bad habits or to that life in which we sometimes feel „chained” in our being and household. No – to indifference, observing the forces of evil that shape the nature and destinies of people, that mention dignity and freedom. No to impersonation, violence, bullying and other bad things.
The diverse meanings of „egg” allowed the authors to take a broader look at a seemingly simple and well-known object. Trying to explain the miracle of the egg, we delve into our feelings, traumas and experiences and, further expanding the boundaries of interest, we search for the purpose of life or even the meaning of humanity, the world, sometimes looking at everything with a smile or irony, sometimes with a note of pain. Each work becomes a part of a personal vision of the world, helping not only to reflect, but also to solve topical issues. Maybe that’s why the authors’ photographs are so different, sometimes examining unpopular, rarely touched on topics, but in the exhibition individual works intertwine, layering images between reality and artistic interpretation.
The works of various authors presented together reflect both: their personal experience and the face of photographers – from the timid first exhibitions of the Society to today’s of a strong, self-confident and well-known collective in the city.”
Danutė Augustinienė
Chairperson of Society of Panevėžys Photographers
