Flowers 2 Photograph - Limited Edition of 5

Hello there! I am an interdisciplinary artist renowned as a theater (awarded the Golden Stage Cross), music video, experimental film director, scenographer, stage costume designer, and performance author, Dr. GoraParasit. I established the Latex Preservation Institute in 2018, following my first latex vacuum performance, 'PipeDreaming', in the small town of Šiauliai, Lithuania. Since then, latex vacuum has been a recurring element in my productions: videos (TikTokShakespeare), stage productions (Snow White, featuring in scene 8, where actors are vacuum-sealed on stage), and live performance works (Tristan and Isolde). Now, I travel everywhere with a suitcase filled with latex, preserving objects I deem essential to capture in living sculptures and photographs. For example, spectators and actors vacuum-sealed objects into latex as a time capsule for future generations in the Gamma Game production in Kaunas, Lithuania. Each preserved moment is a story. One example is the portrait of a Lithuanian women's ice hockey team member, wearing her full uniform but without skates. Her bare legs and the removal of the skates nullify the athlete's connection to the ice and elevate the body into a state of weightlessness. This conveys the tension between strength and vulnerability, drawing attention to women's challenges in sports. Latex has always been a core aesthetic and metaphorical element in my work, shifting focus from the final result to the process itself. The preparation, the caution during the act, everyone’s engagement, the sensations, and sharing them afterward. Latex, with its colonial history tied to exploitation, is a material of both care and violence. Latex is incredibly sensual, even from its origins. Found naturally in angiosperms, this material appears as a milky fluid in many plants, such as poppies and euphorbias. It is released when a plant is cut, thickening upon exposure to air and transforming into latex. Sensual. Naturally, latex is widely used in household items, including inflatable mattresses, gloves, swimming caps, condoms, catheters, balloons, and more, as well as in clothing. When worn, it clings completely, creating a ‘second skin’ effect. When latex touches the skin, sensitivity increases. In my work, this material symbolizes the idea of ‘lost sensitivity.’ I am also captivated by its fragility. Over time, exposure to sunlight and temperature changes destroys latex. Ironic.