Collection “Lake Stories”
Vilnius Academy of Arts
Assoc. prof. Rūta Kvaščevičiūtė-Mikalauskė
“Lake Stories” is inspired by Lake Nepiriai and the relationship between the people living along its shores. My family’s archive photographs from the 1920s to the 1970s reveal aspects of everyday life and dress near the lake. The collection brings together two main sources of inspiration – nostalgia and cottagecore. Nostalgia for life by the lake is about seeking creative inspiration, and cottagecore romanticizes rural life, inviting us to rediscover closeness with nature and slow down. These two inspirations converge in an emotional space where I aim to reinterpret nostalgic stories of lakeside life through a contemporary lens.
