VITA WIEHL photography
FRAGMENTED PAST - VILNIUS PROJECT
Vilnius was my home for the first 23 years of my life. Today it resides within a dear place in my heart, and each time I return I am transported back to snippets of my youth. In 2013 Vilnius Project started to take shape and it has been organically growing ever since. Many places included in this project no longer exist giving way to modern developments of the city. The speed of change of the Lithuanian capital is unstoppable; since the year I left my home in 1993 it has changed beyond recognition - the skyscrapers puncture the skyline, the old town is gleaming with newly laid cobbles and the exemplary gardens and squares are crowning the city…. These giant leaps the capital has taken towards the modernisation are truly remarkable.
However, it is not a glimmering presence of the city I am searching for. Intuitively, I am longing for and seeking anything that evokes the feeling of familiarity of my childhood and youth – be it a place, a structure, a colour or texture….. Today it is craftily hidden from the tourists’ eye, and with every year it is harder to find, but I know it is there waiting to be rediscovered. Its my treasure hunt and my memories. It is my past.