This Wednesday, 19th of June, a very special exhibition - "Memories of Plants" by Lithuanian artist and photographer Dovilė Dagienė - is opening at the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum.

The exhibition will feature 24 unique works, in which plant leaves are used as material onto which archival photographs of Vilnius children are transferred. The photographs show reflections of childhood found in the archives of the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History. Like leaves fallen from trees, such photographs roamed the courtyards and streets in the territory of the Vilnius ghetto following its liquidation. The shadows of the painful past, unfulfilled destinies and dreams look at us from the framed leaves of the plants. Plants thus become distinctive monuments of time and memory.

"The idea of printing photographs on plants came to my mind while I was working on the topic of plant memory. This was my study examining Jewish culture and cultural heritage. While working on it I came across the story of the botanist Jakub Mowszovicz and through that I came to the subject of plants [...] It inspired me to search the archives of children's faces. That relationship between a plant and a child is common in our culture. We often talk about children as flowers, as plants, as something that grows into the future. And here we face the horror of the war that stops that growth."

Yigal Cohen, CEO of the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum: "We are excited to open this special exhibition, which presents in a unique artistic way the story of the Jewish community during the Holocaust in general and in Lithuania in particular. The plants, which symbolize life and growth, serve as a perfect platform to tell the stories of the Jews of Vilnius. This unique exhibition is a reminder of the resilience of the Jewish community. I have every hope that this exhibition will be an inspiration and will encourage discussion as well as deepen the knowledge of the story of Lithuanian Jews. It will also highlight the need to commemorate historical events of the Jewish people through art."

"Memories of Plants" - artist Dovilė Dagienė; Curator: Lilach Efraim.

Ghetto Fighters' House Museum 19.6.2024-19.6.2025 Sunday-Thursday between 9:00 and 16:00.