Emilija Povilanskaitė Lithuanian, b. 1997
Emilija Povilanskaitė (b.1997) is currently active as a visual artist and film director. Her work—rooted in storytelling—is multifaceted, connecting technology, science, research, scent creation, and coding. Through her immersive visual and olfactory installations and films, she explores the complexity of technology, fictional worlds and their effect on human perception.
Having graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts The Hague - ArtScience Interfaculty (2022), and The Institute for Art and Olfaction, Los Angeles (2023), Emilija’s multifaceted work speaks of humankind’s current lost connection between the body and the outer world. Underpinned by a strong interest in myth-making and folklore, unexplained phenomena, and forgotten traditional rituals, the artist offers sensory paths that, through fiction and imagination, may allow us to reevaluate and reaffirm our place as sentient beings amidst the current socio-cultural conjuncture, which sees the cult of the image and the screen reign supreme.
In a time when the Internet has reinforced the hegemony of the image, Emilija uses her approach to create olfactory and visual spaces that communicate on an imaginary, multi-sensorial, and tangible level, making us the more aware of the (real) world which surrounds us, as well as the varying relationships we may entertain with it (whether in states of perceived danger, fear, or even hallucination).
EDUCATION
2018-2022 Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague - Interfaculty Artscience, BA Fine Art
SELECTED SHOWS, PUBLICATIONS & AWARDS
2024 "Reframing Material Culture", Frappant, Hamburg
2023 Dutch Design Week, commission, Eindhoven
2023 "Affected Distances" group show, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius
2023 Still Making Art, group show, KKKC, Klaipėda
2023 Masterclass in Art and Research, Cambridge University and Stedelijk museum, Netherlands
2023 "Scented Trip," publication and scent
2022 Pulchri studio graduation award, The Hague, Netherlands
2022 De School commission, Amsterdam
2020 “The Words I Have”, Group Show, Lithuanian Contemporary Art Center, Award winner: JCDecaux Public Choice Award and Special Mention, Vilnius, Lithuania
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY & AWARDS
2022 “Maladaptive Daydreamers” – short film:
Seoul International Film Festival Winner;
Tokyo short film festival winner, Tokyo Film Awards in competition;
Munich New Wave Short Film Festival Finalist;
2018 “Mobius Bond” short film:
ECU, European Independent Film Festival – Best Cinematography;
FirenzeCorti Short Film Festival – Best Film;
Chicago International Film Festival In Competition;
Toronto International Film Festival - In Competition;
Raw Science Film Festival – Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Best Depiction of a Scientific Principle;
ARFF Berlin – Best International Film winner;
Deep Focus Film Fest, N.Y. – International competition;
Sci-Fi Sydney IFFF - International competition;
Fantaspoa IFFF - International competition.
