The exhibition, inspired by the slogan “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle”, brings together artists who creatively interpret the theme of waste recycling and incorporate recycled materials into their works. It features creators from various disciplines whose artistic expression is grounded in the principles of circularity, reuse, and the conservation of natural resources.
This exhibition is part of an international project designed to raise public awareness about waste sorting and reuse in innovative and inclusive ways. The European Union supports the project and co-organised by the Polish organisation Eastern Institute of Business Education Foundation (Warsaw) and the Turkish organisation Karabekir Ilkokulu (Oltu).
The exhibition was opened by Justina Kaminskaitė, a professional singer and theatre practitioner from Vilnius, who performed original songs on voice and piano. “In a certain sense, my songs are also objects of secondary use: I take my life experience as a resource and process it as material for creative works,” says Justina. Her compositions are musical stories and landscapes that invite each listener on a personal journey.
In addition to her creative practice, Justina is involved in various educational activities in the fields of performing arts, collective creativity, public speaking, and music. She also encourages others to express their creativity through the open-mic concert series Scenos bandymai (English: Stage Tests).
About The Exhibition Participants and Their Works
The collages by textile artist and master craftswoman Liucija Dervinytė are made from second-hand clothing and magazine clippings. These works are embroidered with texts exploring the relationship between culture and nature. The texts emerge from collective embroidery conversations – interactive gatherings the artist has been hosting since 2021. During these sessions, participants collaborate on a shared fabric while discussing the impact of human activity on the environment and our interconnectedness within the natural world.
These conversations are recorded and later serve as inspiration for new pieces. The clothing materials, donated by participants, carry the thoughts and stories shared during the gatherings, transforming into tangible testaments of collective experience.
“Talking” collage by Liucija Dervinytė. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Artist and Doctor of Chemistry Alisa Palavenis presented her original work Gulliver Goes Odd (paraphrased from Lithuanian: Keistokos Guliverio kelionės) – an installation-sculpture in which plastic serves not only as a material but also as a conduit for ideas.
The central figure, Gulliver, is represented by a used plastic bag. Though its scale is striking, most of the miniature people surrounding it remain indifferent, preoccupied with their daily routines and distractions. Only a few make an effort to “pull the rope.” Will they succeed? …
Installation-sculpture Gulliver Goes Odd by Alisa Palavenis. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Professor Remigijus Venckus has written about this work:
“…Another interesting aspect: the scale and narrative of the objects in A. Palavenis’s installation clearly reflects the characteristic playfulness of postmodernism – that is, the artist conveys serious themes through suggestive play. For instance, in the installation Gulliver’s Goes Odd (2023), we see an absurdly large plastic bag of potato chips around which miniature people move. The bag simultaneously appears as a discovery to these tiny figures and as an allusion to Gulliver’s body, lost in an unfamiliar reality.”
Vitalija Kikutienė discovered a path to sustainability through her passion for needlework. She creates tapestry handbags, shopping bags, and bathroom mats from old, unused jeans, vintage bedspreads that have been tucked away for years, and leftover fabric scraps.
For example, her denim bags and purses are crafted from children’s jeans that are no longer worn. She utilizes the least worn parts – such as pockets and decorative seams – and incorporates them into new designs. Each item is fully functional, with lining and interior pockets, blending practicality with creative reuse.
Vitalija Kikutienė’s sustainable textile work, based on the “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle” concept. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Vitalija creates a variety of items, including handbags with snap frames and large denim bags with zippers. When she found herself with a growing pile of leftover curtain fabric, she had an idea: why not turn it into bathroom rugs? Layering a dozen pieces of curtain material, she sewed them together, cut them to shape – and voilà, a rug! They come in square, oval, or round forms – whatever suits your needs. Most importantly, they’re light, soft, easy to wash, and quick to dry.
Evaldas Jurčiukonis, an artist working with wood, gives new life to discarded furniture by recycling wooden parts. He reuses leftover materials from production – such as plywood offcuts, wood scraps, and trimmings – and transforms them into entirely new forms.
One of his most ambitious projects is a table composed of 14,568 individual pieces – yes, over fourteen thousand! The piece took two years to develop, during which Evaldas continually revised the design in search of the ideal structural solution. His main challenge was to master the table’s stability without compromising its aesthetic integrity.
The result is a work of technical precision and visual intrigue: depending on the angle from which it’s viewed, the intricate pattern seems to sink into the table or rise up from its surface – a dynamic optical illusion built entirely from reclaimed wood.
Evaldas Jurčiukonis’s wooden creation, built from recycled wood and assembled from thousands of parts. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Another remarkable piece by Evaldas Jurčiukonis is a wall clock. While crafting bumblebee houses in his workshop, Evaldas accumulated a large number of wooden cutouts and offcuts. Though unsure of their future use, he stored them for four years. Eventually, the right moment came – and these leftover fragments found new life in the form of a clock with 2,658 individual parts. The resulting piece is not only precise in its construction but also rich in visual rhythm and material history.
A collective of authors presented a series of assemblages created in the studio of renowned graphic artist and painter Valentinas Ajauskas. These works invite viewers to see discarded objects not as waste, but as materials with memory, history, and creative potential.
The piece Open, Finally, That Door (Lithuanian: Atidaryk, pagaliau, tas duris) by Valentinas Ajauskas features the silhouette of a lock surrounded by numerous keys – a symbolic reflection on inner boundaries and untapped possibilities.
Assemblage “Open, Finally, That Door” by Valentinas Ajauskas. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Assemblage “Time Passing” by Margiris Ajauskas and Jokūbas Songaila. Photograph from the artist’s personal archive
Runaway Time (Lithuanian: Bėgantis laikas), created by Margiris Ajauskas and Jokūbas Songaila, combines clock mechanisms and ropes in a poetic composition that conveys the fragility of time’s passage and the fleeting nature of life’s moments.
“From Village Stories” (Lithuanian: Iš kaimo istorijų) by Emilis Songaila – a fence constructed from old paintbrushes and drying bottles – evokes the everyday life and rhythms of rural homesteads.
“Morning” (Lithuanian: Rytas), created by costume designer Gražina Ajauskienė, is a composition combining a drawing board with kitchen utensils, capturing the bustling energy and intimate rhythms of family mornings.
Laura Hanning Scarborough, inventor and patent holder of the sustainable handbag design Faldan – Luxury Foldable Bag, along with Giedrė and Gediminas from Vilnos Kelias (English: Wool Road), who craft carpets from recycled wool and tires, and Rūta Ramanauskaitė-Cicėnė also presented their sustainable works.
Highlights from the exhibition opening
Photographs by Katerina Vinogradova-Gricuto
Where: Centre for Wooden Architecture, Polocko St. 52, Vilnius
When: August 1–3, 2025
Organizers: Emilijus Songaila and Kristina Elsbergaitė
Partners: Centre for Wooden Architecture (MAC) and Vilnius – European Green Capital 2025
Exhibition curator: Viktorija Smailytė
Article prepared by: Alisa Palavenis
About the Centre for Wooden Architecture
The Centre for Wooden Architecture (Lithuanian: Medinės architektūros centras, MAC) is housed in a restored cultural heritage site—an authentic wooden house located in Užupis, Vilnius. MAC celebrates the rich tradition of wooden architecture in the city, showcasing its heritage, craftsmanship, and technologies alongside modern sustainable and ecological innovations.
MAC promotes an approach to urban living and its management grounded in the principles of sustainable development. As an authentic and open space, MAC offers visitors the opportunity to learn about and experience both the history and future of Vilnius’s wooden architecture.
MAC’s mission is to unite and educate Vilnius residents who cherish and contribute to a sustainable wooden city. Admission to the Centre for Wooden Architecture is free.
Keywords: sustainable art, recycling art, circular art, recycled materials in art, 3r, recycled materials in art, textile collages, textile recycling, environmental awareness, plastic art installation, mixed media art, wood recycling art, sustainable needlework, modern art, Vilnius events 2025.
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