SIMONA KIRSTUKAITĖ-AKULASHVILI | I Thought, I Would Be a Good Mother

Motherhood is neither an ideal nor a myth. It is a state in which dependence and freedom, vulnerability and strength, creation and constant transformation coexist. 

In her latest exhibition "I Thought, I Would Be a Good Mother", artist Simona Kirstukaitė-Akulashvili invites viewers to reflect on motherhood as an experience that challenges contemporary ideals of efficiency, productivity, and individualism. The exhibition is centred around expressive paintings, complemented by the artist's ceramics and poetry. 

"Perhaps motherhood is one of the last experiences in which a person is forced to acknowledge that they are not the sole author of their own existence. In her paintings, Simona Kirstukaitė-Akulashvili returns to this uncomfortable and contradictory space - where dependence is not weakness, and vulnerability is not the opposite of strength. In her work, motherhood is neither idealised nor demystified. It becomes a state that simultaneously creates and dismantles, nurtures and transforms." - Exhibition curator Gretė Ona Tvarkūnaitė 

... 

"When I speak about my own experience, I speak about motherhood in today's context - about what is so often left unspoken or, conversely, what people are quick to define with absolute certainty. Both the glorification and the devaluation of motherhood can be equally dangerous. 

Motherhood is an experience of radical intimacy, of surrendering yourself to another - a dependence that is at once deeply sweet and profoundly devastating. It stands in opposition to the celebrated ideals of individualism and the myth of the Übermensch: the belief that 'if I truly want it, I can achieve anything.' Motherhood cannot be measured by efficiency or productivity; it follows an entirely different set of values. 

I want to return the mother's body to her - a body of flesh and blood. I want to restore both her power and her limitations, all of its density and lightness at once. I want to speak about infinite vulnerability, which can become our greatest strength when it is seen and acknowledged."- The artist Simona Kirstukaitė-Akulashvili. 

Curated by Gretė Ona Tvarkūnaitė. 

Opening: August 7, 6:00 PM 

On view until September 25 

UMI Gallery 

Užupio St. 2A, Vilnius 

+370 630 44329 

III-V, 1-6 PM