ST. PETERSBURG.- For the first time in St. Petersburg, two Lithuanian curators Justė Kostikovaitė and Monika Lipšic are presenting a group show comprised of Lithuanian and international artists, many of whom have never before exhibited in Russia.

The exhibition What Thinks Me seeks to understand how the concept of the self is being constructed and/or reflected through artworks. The show revolves around this subject through metaphors, object-based stories and artworks themselves.

The name of the show derives from a text written by artist John Baldessari (b. 1931). J. Baldessari is an American conceptual artist whose work was famously criticized as ‘a mere parody of conceptualism’.

In his text-work titled What Thinks Me Now (1982) the artist names a continuous list of things, enumerating abstract ideas that think him - who said it is not the correct way to describe a process of idea circulation? The text encompasses a wide list; as wide as one’s consciousness, or one’s self. This text work became a premise for the show, where the artworks were chosen and exhibition was composed according to it. One could say this is a show dedicated to a single artwork. What Thinks Me Now(1982) became a tool to generate content.

In the context of this problematic political situation we don't want to use the same argument that others use – to boycott or cancel shows. This argument has been used too often by artists, theatre and film directors, athletes and others throughout recent history. Our collaborator TAIGA is independent from state funding, and, therefore it is also independent from the state ideology. We think that collateral damage of a cultural boycott is too great and contributes to the further marginalization of independent artistic communities, precisely these are the elements of society that seek to reflect on or resist authoritarian structures“ – says the co-curator of the exhibition Justė Kostikovaitė.

The show is comprised of an exhibition and a series of events, including performances and a workshop.