Peace and Dignity (2024)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Courtesy of the artist
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Photography by Gert Jan van Rooij

Oak wood, obsidian, acrylic paint, hemp, synthetic fibres
white: 260 high, foot size 320 x 150 x 265 cm
black: 294 high, foot size 101 x 93 x 53 cm
yellow: 260 high, foot size 100 x 90 x 80 cm
red: 243 high, foot size 100 x 95 x 80 cm
floor piece: 15-20 cm high, foot size 35 x 25 cm

The concentrically arranged new work for ARBOS embodies prayers for peace and dignity and encourages reflection on the relationships between humans and the rest of nature on an individual to a planetary scale. Four found oak wood branch sculptures, each adorned with a hand resembling that of a newborn child, extend outward to connect, each representing a cardinal direction: north (white), east (red), south (yellow) and west (black). It is also a tribute to the Meso-American goddess Cōātlīcue, considered within Aztec religions to be the mother of all universes.
The eyes on the branches are decorated with eyelashes. According to Lembertaitė, we perceive not only with our eyes but also through touch.

In the center of the four sculptures rests an obsidian stone, which embodies the blood of the earth because it is volcanic and gives strength and courage to know ourselves. Obsidian, which resembles contemporary screens, is a mirror for the soul. We hold a black mirror (smartphone) in our hand and we have a choice to get lost in that void or to connect by drawing our attention to a ‘fundamental truth’: ‘An inseparable connection between the wellbeing of the Earth and women,’ says the artist.