The sound dissolves into hypnotic notes while a hybrid creature swims in the water. The mysterious figure is soon accompanied by some pink river dolphins, an endangered species which is as fragile as its environment, the Amazon. Reality and imagination blur within this aquatic ecosystem, leaving us feeling like we have just stepped out of a dream. This is just a glimpse from Æqualia (2023) by Emilija Škarnulytė, which is currently on view as part of the solo exhibition Emilija Škarnulytė – The Goddess Helix at Kunsthall Trondheim. Curated by Adam Kleinman with Joe Rowley, the exhibition presents an ongoing series of cinematic installations by the Lithuanian-born artist, which is mostly focused on the dialogue between history and myth, as well as between the natural and the artificial. In times of environmental and social crisis, Škarnulytė’s video artworks captivate the viewer through a combination of science and archetypes that go far beyond the borders of the country she comes from. The Goddess Helix furthers the museum’s programme for the period 2020-2025, which is also devoted to topics such as sustainability and climate. 

Škarnulytė was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1987. Her work intertwines documentary and speculative fiction, investigating diverse fields such as technology, geology and ecology: it is a wide exploration of visible and invisible landscapes that range from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle, also including virtual landscapes. Škarnulytė often questions the relationship between human and non-human in the contemporary scenario, inviting the audience to reflect on the consequences of such a precarious balance. She was awarded the 2023 Ars Fennica Award and the 2019 Future Generation Art Prize. She recently participated in the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea (2023), the Helsinki Biennale in Finland (2023) and the Henie Onstad Triennale for Photography and New Media in Norway (2023). Her work has been exhibited at venues such as London’s Tate Modern and Serpentine Galleries, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. She also co-founded and co-directs the Tromsø-based collective Polar Film Lab and is a member of the artist duo New Mineral Collective.

Archetypes are a recurring element within this series of works, which also draws its inspiration from the theories of the Lithuanian archaeologist and anthropologist Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994). Gimbutas played a major role in researching the Old European matriarchal societies prior to the Bronze Age, as distinguished from the Indo-European patriarchal society. A key element of her research was constituted by the goddess and serpent motifs: they were both typical symbols of fertility in Neolithic art and Škarnulytė offers a further interpretation of such motifs. As we can see in Riparia (2023), both these motifs are combined in the post-human form of two enigmatic creatures. Characterised by sumptuous crystal masks and long, coloured tails, these creatures embody the link between hydrology and mythology. The setting is the confluence of the Rhone River in Switzerland and becomes the starting point to investigate the effects of human intervention on the riparian and the lacustrine environments. The snake motif is also a core element of The Code (2024), a newly commissioned twinned animation where the reptiles gradually metamorphose into a genetic sequence: the famous double helix from which the exhibition’s title comes.

A key element of her research was constituted by the goddess and serpent motifs: they were both typical symbols of fertility in Neolithic art and Škarnulytė offers a further interpretation of such motifs.

Another river confluence is the protagonist of Æqualia (2023). Also known as the Encontro das Águas (“meeting of waters” in Portuguese), this is the point where the white stream of the Rio Solimões meets – and does not merge with – the black currents of the Rio Negro. The complex, fractal geometries that are generated by such a confluence create an almost imaginative landscape which is inhabited by mermaid-like figures. The mermaid is one of the most iconic archetypes in Škarnulytė’s body of work and traces back to different cultures and myths across the continents. Mermaids inhabit even more remote corners of the world in Sirenomelia (2017), which is set in an abandoned Cold War submarine base in Olavsvern, Norway. The recording of fast-travelling quasar waves overlaps with the sounds of the Arctic Ocean and sonar chips that might be connected to the mermaids’ presence. Both Æqualia and Sirenomelia confront us with the possibility of a mutation and, perhaps, an apocalypse, in addition, to deepening the reflection on the relationship between humankind and aquatic environments, as we can see in previous works such as Hypoxia (2023) and Aphotic Zone (2022), which were respectively showcased at Helsinki Biennale (2023) and the Penumbra exhibition in Venice (2022).

The final chapter of the exhibition is represented by Aldona (2013): one of Škarnulytė’s most pivotal works and a tribute to the artist’s grandmother, who was believed to have lost her vision after being exposed to radiation caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The work shows Škarnulytė’s grandmother visiting Grūtas Park in Druskininkai, Lithuania, a socialist realism museum known for its sculpture collection. The dark ruins of the Soviet regime are put in contrast with the delicate presence of the woman, who can now experience them through the mere use of touch, despite the visual dominance of the propaganda. Furthermore, she can only recollect her own memories of Soviet rule without ever actually having seen a free Lithuania: for this reason, Aldona might also represent a generational shift, as well as a tribute to the artist’s cultural identity. The dried plants that complete the installation symbolise the bond with the natural environment, evoking the smells and the sounds of the Lithuanian land.