The City Sounds

I grew up in Vilnius. I’ve been rubbing the city with the soles of my shoes and the tires of my bicycle for thirty years. I can create freely in Vilnius. Whether it is street art or painting in a park, I feel the support of people around me and this is what matters most to me. I am not surprised by the idea of young Vilnius at all. Your body can be old, but you can be young in your mind and heart. Cosmopolitism and the ability to pursue your dreams and goals at any age – this is what youth is.

– Artur Širin-Ettoja, painter

About The City Sounds (Miestas Skamba)

In the centre of the composition, you can see our TV Tower and everything depicted around it was inspired by my travels around the world. This is how elements of German Bauhaus, Spanish Cubism, Russian Futurism occurred in the painting. When I was creating it, I was thinking about the present: global street fashion and even the culture of sport. I left the drawing open as if incomplete – in this way I emphasise the youthfulness of Vilnius, the feeling of freedom in it and its openness to new things.