About

“The Memory of Water” is a collaborative project between bodypainter Vilija Vitkute and choreographer Malgorzata Sus. It brings together different art disciplines, such as bodypainting, dance, sound composition, film, photography, visual effects and scenography, and connects them with environmental research on water and education about climate change. It is a long-term project and it is going to result in photo and video exhibitions, art and documentary films, a performance, lectures and workshops, and in the creation of the project's headquarters where artists and other guests can have a space for research and creative exchange. There are over 30 international artists involved in the project and it is being created in the Nordic region to later tour and reach audiences around the world. 

The creation of the project started in September 2019. Since then Vilija and Malgorzata built the vision of a stage performance (to be premiered in 2022), gathered an international team of artists to collaborate, established connections with environmental organizations, and created first visual materials for the project - at the end of September this year they travelled to the Arctic, Lofoten Islands, where breathtaking landscapes became an inspiration and a set up for bodypainting, dance, photography and films.

About the creation

Artists Vilija Vitkute and Malgorzata Sus created their first work together in Portugal in 2017. They felt immediately connected through common artistic vision, love for nature and care for the environment. They continued collaboration within other projects in different places in the world, in the 2019 winning championship in the World Bodypainting Festival in Klagenfurt, where Vilija competed as an artist in the Special Effects category and Malgorzata was the model. In August 2018 they created a dance body painting performance for the Menuo Juodaragis Festival in Lithuania, in collaboration with musician Andrius Mamontovas. Shortly after Vilija and Malgorzata initiated the project BE WATER which later developed into The Memory of Water, that for over one year now is growing regardless of the pandemic and art world crisis. 

First phase of The Memory of Water creation process took place in Nida, Lithuania, in September 2019, where Vilija and Malgorzata met with Andrius Mamontovas, who initially was also involved in the project. The artists went through research and discussions to come up with the vision and plan of the future performance. In 2019 and 2020 the main creators have been working constantly on developing the project script, gathering the artists team, researching about water in Baltic and Nordic regions, finding financial support for the project to make it happen in the best quality.

In September 2020 Vilija and Malgorzata, with a new partner, Swedish theatre director and documentary filmmaker Linnea Grimstedt, established a company The Memory Of Water Productions, based on Gotland, Sweden. Since then they work independently, developing the project on different levels - from artistic creation, through environmental engagement and collaborations, to production, management and promotion.

Recently the artists opened an online shop where everyone worldwide can get an unique Arctic Bodypainting Calendar 2021, as well as other prints and postcards. In the same time started the online booking platform, where a wide offer of The Memory Of Water workshops and lectures is available. 

Friendship and artistic connection between Vilija and Malgorzata, as well as their strong concern about the environment protection, make them undertake impossible missions, and let the dreams come true!

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE 

The performance premiere is planned in spring- or summertime of 2022, in the Nordic Region. It will bring together on stage 14 body painted international dancers, Norwegian contemporary composer Tine Surel Lange and master of bodypainting illusion Johannes Stoetter performing live. In the creation process of the show there will be 5 more body painters, 2 filmmakers, 2 digital and visual artists, a scenographer, a documentary filmmaker, a light designer, live streaming technical team, and a production team. For the direction of the performance are responsible visual artist Vilija Vitkute and choreographer Malgorzata Sus.

Water story

Water is the most transformative element - it easily changes from steam to liquid and then to ice, it melts, evaporates and keeps transforming in the unbroken cycle. Water is life - as long as we don't stop its continuous flow - it will keep our planet and us alive.

The water’s closest companion is the Moon. Ocean, that gathers most of the water on Earth, is inseparably connected with the Moon and influenced by its phases. We decided to divide our performance and the story into 8 chapters - as the 8 periods of the Moon.

Starting from the image of a mysterious cloud and a single water drop, we fall into a rapid waterfall, to find ourselves in the flow of a river, sometimes calm and peaceful, sometimes dynamic and unpredictable. With a growing number of dancers and music rising over the huge and vast ocean, the waves take us across the planet and bring to Antarctic coasts, crushing on the icebergs. A mysterious Ice Creature leads us through the majestic mountains of ice, before we'll slide down back to the underwater world. In the darkness, lightning in UV, there are the most fascinating colorful animals - we will watch live the process of illusionary body painting. The dry land awaits us with the experience of heat and lack of water - is there a way to awake the planet to bring back the flow? Do we still have time to awake ourselves?

Funders

Project partners