Morning has not dawned yet

Lithuania - in search of its own lost identity. A visual exploration of the contemporary urban landscape of Lithuania. A long lasting period of oppression on Lithuania`s history and national identity have shaped the country and its people. After 50 years of soviet domination, Lithuania was the first soviet republic who declared itself independent and became a sovereign state. A long lasting period of oppression on Lithuania`s history and national identity have shaped the country, its resources, its economic system and its people. After gaining independence, Lithuania is in a constant process of transformation. By processes of detachment on the one side and bonding processes on the other, Lithuania, similar to other post-soviet countries, is in search of its own lost identity and its political role in a united Europe. I remember Lithuania as a country with plenty of wild apple trees, dozens of smallsized mature apples hanging on crowded branches and as a quiet laid-back place. The streets were not crowded, people were not in a rush. I was interested in the "here and now". I wonder where does Lithuania as a post communist state position itself in Europe today? Which traces the past has left and what role the European Union plays in terms of the country's future? Seeking for the places and situations which express to me an idea or a feeling of the present-day Lithuania, I had the feeling as if a long awaited moment has not happened yet. A hunch of not sleeping anymore, but to dwell on a dreamy mode, turning from one side to the other, waiting to get up with the first rays of the sun which bring back the warmth and the colour to shapes that were grey at dawn. The title "Morning has not dawned yet" is taken from a traditional vocal folk music song, a lithuanian Daino. These traditional Dainos are commonly known by Lithuanians and form a basic part of lithuanian identity. Moreover, the history of the Baltic states reveals one world known event „The Singing Revolution“ - a national and nonviolent movement in the Baltic States betweeen 1987 to 1991, where unarmed Lithuanians, Estonians and Latvians fought for their countries freedom and independence in face of the soviet occupation by singing songs.