Česlovas Lukenskas’s “PO-PO” exhibition explores a world after the collapse of humanity

A blackened, shattered heart will stand in the center of Vilnius Town Hall as the first object visitors encounter in Česlovas Lukenskas’s new exhibition, “PO-PO.” The show opens on September 3 with a performance and imagines what remains “after” an event, a word or the collapse of a structure.

Lukenskas describes the exhibition as “a visual territory after the collapse of humanity.” Its landscape combines fragments of destroyed cities, cracked window surfaces, remnants of burned structures and dense blackness that serves as a central part of the work rather than a background. The artist says the exhibition is not about beauty, but about truth.

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a visual territory after the collapse of humanity

The five-part exhibition begins with “Algiukas’s Heart, Which Was a Home,” a darkened and broken heart that commemorates a lost and continuing struggle for life. Lukenskas also presents “Little Skulls,” which addresses children killed in wars. He says each statistic conceals a child’s interrupted laughter, an unrealized future and a family’s loss.

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The exhibition is not about beauty, but about truth.

On the town hall’s second floor, “Stained Glass Windows of Hell” refers to February 24, 2022, presented as a decisive date in contemporary European memory. “Consciousness Carpets,” made from analog film strips, turns fragments once used to spread information and propaganda into layers of noise and memory. The exhibition also includes works described as “cremains,” collages, assemblages, objects and “motographic” drawings.

Art critic Agnė Narušytė calls the exhibition a requiem marked by the expectation of an ending, but also “a prelude to recovery.” Lukenskas similarly presents the broken heart as a symbol of light and hope in a collapsing world.

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a prelude to recovery