Exhibition ‘Geotraumatics’ at Atletika gallery by Linas Gabrielaitis, Adomas Žudys, Rūta Spelskytė, Jurijus Dobriakovas, Simonas Saarmann

2026-04-02

On 9 April 2026 at 7 pm, the exhibition ‘Geotraumatics’ will open at the Atletika gallery. This exhibition is a collaborative project by Linas Gabrielaitis, Adomas Žudys, Rūta Spelskytė, Jurijus Dobriakovas, and Simonas Saarmann.

I approached them with a very simple question. I was received by the committee, whom I immediately told that I was trying to draw the Vilnius glaciers. I found it interesting that the committee had not yet decided what to call themselves – hysterics, geotraumatics, stratoanalysis, schizoanalysis, geophilosophy – the discipline itself is not at all clear, with unclear methods and still no objectives. I only knew that the members of the committee were paid real money for playing real games. They started telling me about a historical event when humanity discovered planetary depth – the deeper you dig into the earth, the older things you find. With the discovery of depth, depth became time – the deeper the older, the deeper the longer. The depth of thought became planetary depth. In depth ecology, and in depth psychoanalysis as well, the deeper you dig, the more things are either traumatised or traumatising. The depth of thought has always been planetary depth.

They went on to describe  strange academic manoeuvres and suspicious techniques that  might operate at planetary depths, such as forced-devotion, over-attachment, misinterpretation, shaving, deep-repetition, and superficiality. A geotraumatologist, Professor Challenger, tried to invent a pain machine that would make the Earth scream – he was convinced that this was the only way we might begin to listen to what the Earth wants to say. I interrupted them, what are you talking about? I repeated that I wanted to draw a diagram of a glacier. I was told that I had misunderstood something. The enormous weight of the glaciers had been pressing down on the earth, and only now is it beginning to exhale from that pressure – Vilnius is rising upwards by a fraction of a millimetre a year. You see,  they said, trauma always inscribes itself in ways you least expect it.

The authors of ‘Geotraumatics’ invite visitors to a gallery space that transforms into a geological map and a playground. Reconstructing the processes of glacial retreat in Vilnius, once located at the edge of a glacier, they employ digital and augmented reality technologies to reveal a shared layer of geotraumas linking nature, people, and the city.

Curator – Linas Gabrielaitis
Archeologist – Adomas Žudys
Magnetologist – Rūta Spelskytė
Geologist – Simonas Saarmann
Inscriptionologist – Jurijus Dobriakovas
Designer – Ringailė Demšytė
Technical manager – Jonas Balsevičius

Exhibition opening 2026/04/09 19.00 and performative play session with Adomas Žudys until 21.00
Exhibition dates 2026/04/10 – 05/16
Thursdays & Fridays 16.00–19.00, Saturdays 13.00–17.00
Play days at the exhibition with Adomas Žudys – 2026/04/09–04/11, 04/30, 05/02, 05/07–05/09
Geological city workshop with Simonas Saarmann 2026/05/14 15.00
Address – ‘Atletika’, Vitebsko St. 21, Vilnius. Free entry.

Organised by the Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association. LIAA activities are financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality.

 

Biographies

Linas Gabrielaitis – a PhD candidate in game studies at Tampere University in Finland. He holds a Master’s degree from Vilnius Academy of Arts and participated in the Rupert alternative education program. His practice explores games as an artistic medium for thinking about more-than-human systems and geological processes.

Adomas Žudys – a PhD candidate in art at Vilnius Academy of Arts, researching the intersections of imagination and conspiracy theories. His work operates between digital and physical artifacts, combining traditional art forms with contemporary technologies and speculative worldviews.

Rūta Spelskytė – an artist and researcher, lecturer at Vilnius Academy of Arts, and postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Art Research. Her work investigates human magnetoreception and the role of magnetite, operating between science, speculation, and fiction.

Jurijus Dobriakovas – a researcher of contemporary culture, curator, and critic. His interests include the intersections of art and technology, mediated everyday culture, transformations of contemporary mythopoetics, urban practices, and the relationships between nature and architecture.

Simonas Saarmann – a geologist, graduate of Vilnius University, independent researcher, teacher, and educator. He developed the “Science Steps” educational format, in which students learn through research-based practice integrating multiple disciplines.