Gallery Antje Wachs is pleased to announce „Just what is it that makes today?“, a group exhibition curated by Catherine Helmeryk, curator at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, LT.

Since the fall of the divides of Europe and the rise of globalisation, individual identity as expressed through consumer choices has become a concern throughout the continent. This is particularly pertinent in the former Soviet and communist countries where the new capitalism flourishes. „Just what is it that makes today?“ presents the work of 5 artists working at the edges of the new EU. Their playful approaches question rather than judge, feeling their way through the new climates of teenage capitalism and mass pluralist media. The title is a homage to the British forbear Richard Hamilton with his 1956 Collage Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?

For many living in Lithuania poverty is abundant, and as a consequence many aspirations are catered for through the black market as seen in the „Disco“ series of photographs by Andrew Miksys. Born in Seattle of Lithuanian decent Miksys came to Lithuania seven years ago. His photographs often document the ways in which aspects of American culture have been adopted and fused with Lithuanian to make something new. The „Disco“ photographs were taken in the nightclubs that now inhabit the soviet-era culture houses across the cities and countryside towns. Hollywood glamour fill the dreams of the patrons and are played out through counterfeit Channel, fake tans and dressing up for the disco.

Bulgarian RASSIM has become a living brand, from making an ad campain about his relationship with a girlfriend to pumping iron to become the body beautiful. „Adrenaline“ shows snapshots of a signifier of masculinity – a souped up car. The petrol head, the fetishised metal, paint and chrome receiving so much careful love and attention is the ultimate marker of macho for many. The photographs are close-ups of a bright yellow car being waxed, caressed and tended to. The car is not for driving, but for looking at and to be sat in, a small sanctuary where the owner is king.

„Choice“ by Romanian Ciprian Muresan contravenes all brand ruling. Coke and Pepsi – archrivals each fighting for brand loyalty – fused by a young boy. He topples the infamous taste-test so readily trotted out to assert each’s superiority over all other cola drinks, but primarily aimed at each other. The boy pours half a glass of one, and then fills it with the other and drinks the PepsiCoke mix down. That’s all. In this gesture their identities crumble, they are reduced to being what they ultimately are: a fuzzy brown soft drink in a glass in northern Romania.

Juozas Laivys lives in Vilnius – a city that has long cashed in on its beauty. The Baroque old town is UNESCO protected, and its skyline has become its trademark. For many this is all they know of Vilnius: the scrolling architecture, the church towers and painted relief facades. Tourist groups pivot around the axis linking the castle and city gates rarely stepping out of the UNESCO zone, as is the fate of so many cities. The views are depicted upon many of the mass produced handy-crafts. Laivys instead carves off the image of the old town adorning a wooden plate. He erases the preconceptions, leaving an abstract almost wooden fog. This palimpsest is a blank canvas for visitors to Vilnius to project their own experiences, or for those yet to visit.

As choice seems to increase exponentially, products and imagery fill out lives. Latvian artist Katrīna Neiburga advertises an entire weekend using every product for every task. Everyday activities are eased with a cascade of improving gadgets included many purposes that one never realised were needed. Innovations eked into every facet taken on by the film’s protagonists, which lead to potentially catastrophic levels.