This Is Life And Not A Fantasy

By Niamh Mageean

Tucked away behind a small shop front along Royal Avenue lies a beautiful exhibition space held by Ivea Rojūtė for her ‘This Is Life And Not A Fantasy’ installation, provided by Paragon Studios (PS²). Many people, such as UUB students like myself and general shop-goers around city centre have probably passed this space without a second thought, but it is definitely worth checking out.

Run on a voluntary, non-commercial basis, PS² is a small artist collective funded primarily by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council; and in the case of Ivea Rojūtė’s installation, followed up by the support of the Lithuanian Culture Institute.

Despite the installation nature of Rojūtė’s work, this is a largely text-based and illustrative exhibition, presented by an artist with a fantastic flare for the aesthetics of the space she works in. Basked in the morning sun through the large, open windows in the space, Rojūtė’s draped mesh pieces were brought to life in the light. With such a large, airy space, personally I would worry about how to do the area justice and fill it out with pieces without it feeling forced, however ‘This Is Life And Not A Fantasy’ is a prime example of capitalising on the features of a project space such as PS².

The subject matter of ‘This Is Life And Not A Fantasy’ isn’t as blatant as it seems, with Rojūtė pulling on specific memories of a Lithuanian shop on her walk to City Centre and its large windows comprising of random tidbits from food to second hand books to children's toys, described by Rojūtė as having “a very personal touch to it and seemed to champion a different, alternative economy.” In Rojūtė’s own words, the project started with the ambition to link with art and culture from Lithuania under the looming shadow of Brexit and growing Nationalism, which has brought about the artist’s personal “deep sadness and the fear of diminishing cultural exchange with Europe.” However melancholic this background detail may seem, translated from Rojūtė’s brain to the canvas that is the PS² exhibition space, these ideas form this clever, fun and bright installation that is thoroughly impelling.

My personal thoughts on this exhibition are that of pure motivation and inspiration, an ethereal experience to say the least. The beautiful pink and green hues mixed with the contrast between light and airy draped mesh pieces, and the striking black lettering scattered around the walls personally made me feel very comfortable, like I could just sit and read each quote over and over all day contemplating the story behind each. Two of the most notable pieces from this exhibition, in my opinion, are the large draped mesh piece, reading ‘you gotta go to the places you are scared of’, and the notebook containing original sketches of the final exhibition pieces and additional small illustrations of miscellaneous objects that I find very endearing.

Since writing this article, the ‘This Is Life And Not A Fantasy’ exhibition has unfortunately ended, though feel free to browse the images I have posted on my social media. PS² are hosting a new exhibition beginning on 18 April - 04 May 2019, called ‘Everything must go’, created by Liliane Puthod, another residency to look forward too.