Raimondas Danilovs' photography exhibition "Sit down next to..."
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Does a penchant for art start with the first pencil box that a mother buys, when she notices that little hands are already able to grasp a pencil and create a charming chaos of lines? Or when felt-tip pens, crayons, and watercolor tubes start to multiply on the table and in drawers, and children's drawings cover all surfaces in the house like multicolored butterflies? Or maybe when visiting aunts whisper "how beautiful!" and insist on attending art school. "You - to art..." - a classmate later says dreamily to the sounds of a turntable and slowly runs her finger over her first ceramic work - a painting made of small details and linen threads.
When did photography knock on the door of my life? I don't remember exactly. The photos of the National Geography magazine I subscribed to stirred my imagination and feelings. My first amateur attempts allowed me to discover within myself the realization that photography could be the most accessible way to realize my artistic ambitions, to express myself, to show what I see, how I see it. After all, we each experience the world in our own way – one person, looking at a house, sees just the house, while another sees details, the play of shapes and colors, lines or shadows.
Observing the environment, I immediately project a photo – this process was inspired and encouraged by the nature of Ireland. I have been admiring this amazing beauty like a postcard for almost twenty years – that’s how long I have been living here. My first exhibition, which took place in Birštonas, was called: “Ireland in my eyes”.
“Do you feel like you’re making progress and can finally consider yourself a photographer?” my wife once asked. I really couldn’t say that – the thing that motivates and encourages me the most is when people tell me that there’s “something special” in my photographs. I accept that with great gratitude.
Photography for me is like hunting. When I go out to take pictures, I have a goal, but I don’t know what I will “shoot”, what I will “catch”. Of course, a lot of homework is done beforehand: for example, every day on my way to work I see the same view, I see how it changes, depending on the time of day, weather conditions, light – I can’t always stop, and I don’t always have a camera at hand. But what I know for sure is that I will return here, I know what time of day, what time of year, or maybe when the water surface is smooth as glass – well, then I will catch that long-awaited shot, patiently matured in my thoughts and feelings.
So, dear friend, sit down next to me...
