Eglė Budvytytė: Songs from the compost Opening Reception

Beginning February 3rd, Canal Projects will also host the New York premiere of Lithuanian artist Eglė Budvytytė’s film Songs from the compost, which provides an exploration of consciousness, human and non-human entanglements, symbiosis, decay, and renewal. 

The film, shot in the pine forests and dunes of the Curonian Spit, features a cast comprised mostly of local youth. The work unfolds through a specially conceived song, choreography, and costumes. A hypnotic voice sings lyrics that draw on the writings of biologist Lynn Margulis and science-fiction author Octavia Butler. The choreography undoes the verticality of the human figure, unfurling it into the landscape so that the performers’ bodies are constantly pulled toward the earth and toward each other, moving through the forest, along the dunes, and the water. 

Supported by: Nida Art Colony, 4Cs -From conflict to conviviality through culture, Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA2), Mondriaan Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, Lithuanian Council for Culture.

Based in Vilnius and Amsterdam, Eglė Budvytytė (b. 1981) works at the intersection between visual and performing arts. She approaches movement and gesture as technologies for a possible subversion of normativity, gender and social roles, and the dominant narratives governing public spaces. Spanning song, poetry, video, and performance, her practice explores the persuasive power of collectivity, vulnerability, and the permeable relationships between bodies, audiences, and environments. Her work has been shown at Whitechapel Gallery, London (2022); Venice Biennale (2022); Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Latvia (2020); Renaissance Society, Chicago (2018); South London Gallery (2018); and 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014); among others.