Ieva Lygnugarytė, a Lithuanian artist, has delved deep into her country’s forgotten history for her newest artwork. The video installation, displayed in the Oratorio dei Crociferi in Venice, raises crucial questions about who is seen, who remains isolated, and how cultural value is assigned.

Nicolaus Hussovianus, a 16th-century poet, wrote a poem about the bison’s ferocity and significance. The Grand Duchy planned to send this poem, alongside a straw-stuffed bison, to Pope Leo X in Rome in order to introduce their country as a peripheral European region to the Vatican, at that time the cultural epicentre. Such gestures were common in the past to demonstrate power, knowledge, and cultural sophistication, and to form alliances.

But the gift never fulfilled its purpose: the pope died before it could arrive.
What happens when a place or culture tries to be recognized, but never fully arrives? Lygnugarytė translated this idea into her new work, creating an intriguing collaboration between artistic practice and curatorial research with Meral Karacaoğlan, the exhibition’s curator.

The film was shot across Italy and Lithuania, portraying the named poet as a figure seeking recognition beyond Northeastern Europe.

The Oratorio dei Crociferi is a religious site away from the Biennale hotspots—a hidden Venetian church, which further emphasizes the pressing questions raised by the artwork.

The exhibition will run throughout May 2026, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (except on Mondays).