On 1st December 2020 the modern art MO museum in Vilnius informed about an incident when one of the posters of the museum’s outdoor exhibition “Why Is It Hard to Love?” was damaged. The poster depicting a same-sex couple was vandalized with red paint.
“In the exhibitions at the MO Museum, we invite to talk about topics that are important to society. This is one of the ways we can reflect on our time, discuss problematic issues. All art is about us – also when it unmasks topics we avoid encountering and want to keep quiet about. The damage to this exhibition poster depicting a same-sex couple only demonstrates that some issues are still difficult for our society and we are not mature enough to accept one another, ”says Milda Ivanauskienė, Director of the MO Museum.
Ugnius Gelguda, the author of cycle “Living Together”, adds: “It is sad to see that even sixteen years after the creation of this series, the different ways of being together are still incomprehensible, condemned and repressed. I hope that culture contributes to understanding and openness.”
Gelguda raises relevant topics in his work, sometimes uncomfortable questions, wants to talk about what is silenced and disguised. The photography cycle “Living Together” was created in 2004 – sensitive and delicate portraits of heterosexual, homosexual, newlyweds, couples with age difference, and caused a lot of discussion at that time.
The photography cycle “Living Together” was developed under a project implemented by the National LGBT rights organization LGL.
