Artūras Valiauga / Abipus Nemuno (On Both Sides of Nemunas), 2017

Description

In 2017, the cultural program of Lithuania’s presentation at the Leipzig Book Fair as an honorary guest was a project by photographer Arturs Valiauga, the axis of which was the biography and creative legacy of the German writer and poet Johannes Bobrovsky (1917-1965). By capturing the topography described in J. Bobrovsky’s literature and the current social environment of the places where the writer lived and worked, A. Valiauga created a conceptual documentary, which took shape in the exhibition and publication. The presentation of the publication “Abipus Nemunos, tarp Rytų ir Vakarų / Beiderseits der Memel. Zwischen Osten und Westen” aims not only to present A. Valiauga’s project, but also to remember and actualize the forgotten literary work of J. Bobrovsky and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Today, the connection between the literary legacy of an extremely relevant writer and conceptual documentary photography becomes a form of memory, actualizing the history and present of all of Europe.