On the 6th of September at 4 p.m. – Opening of Paulius Normantas' photography exhibiton "Vanishing Sources". (Neringa Museum of History, Pamario str. 53, Nida)
Exhibition will be open to the public until the 2nd of October.
Paulius Normantas – a photographer who had found his theme– life of the micronations. The exhibition has been prepared based on the first photo book ''Vanishing Sources" issued in 1990 in Hungary. The book is comprised of nine cycles of photographs telling about everyday life and surrounding environment of such nations as Hhanty (1983), Mordvi, Udmurt (1984), Sámi (1986), Mari, Komi, Veps, Vodi, Izori and Livi nations (1987). Photographs from the funds of Lithuanian Photographers Association which were created and printed by the author until 1986 are exhibited in the exhibition.
Normantas was in particular attracted by the images of life of the tiny nations which found themselves on the verge of dissappearance. He was shooting Tibetans, vanishing Siberian, Himalayan and Fino-ugrian micronations, as if extending their existence and making it meaningful in photographs. He knew how to approach unknown people and earn their trust – he would attract them by his sincere communication, respect to the place and its residents, interest in their customs and spiritual life.
"Normantas' cycles sound as a requiem to extinct nations and nations which are vanishing." (Prof. hab. dr. A. Andrijauskas)
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Paulius Normantas (1948 06 08 – 2017 01 07) – a traveller, orientalist, photographer and poet.
Was born and grew up in Žemaitija (Samogitia), completed studies in Vilnius, from 1983 lived in Hungary, Nyíregyháza City, had Lithuanian and Hungarian citizenships, in many places was referred to as a citizen of the world.
From 1983 he was a member of Lithuanian Photographers Association, from 1986 m. - a member of Hungarian Photographers Association and Hungarian Creators Association, from 1995 - a member of Lithuanian Journalists Association and International Association of Journalists.
Arranged over 30 individual photography exhibitions in Lithuania, hundreds of his exhibitions arranged abroad. Published 12 photography books and a unique photography and haiku poetry book "White".
From 1979 for some time lived in Nida, in the beginning at K. Mizgiris' place, learned the craft of photography and in 1981, encouraged by V. Butyrinas, arranged here his first exhibition of acts and seaside landscapes which has become a reference point of his creative path. In 1996 "Paulius Normantas' 15 Years' Jubilee Exhibition of Photography" was arranged in Nida. 20 years later, in 2001, Paulius Normantas' gallery "Himalayas" was set up here to become an oasis in which spiritual and cultural treasures could have revealed themselves, and how can we remember but sadly it existed short. With the exhibition "Vanishing Sources" we symbolically return to the start of the author's creation, to the location where he had started as an artist of photography 36 years ago.
