Discussion and Screening with Bjørn Melhus
Thursday 29 January 2026, 20:00
Rupert, Mindaugo 15, Vilnius
We Are At War. A discussion and screening with Bjørn Melhus
Part of ‘Aspects of Presence’, a project of Goethe-Institut Lithuania, Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) in Vilnius, and Akademie der Künste in Berlin
The Goethe-Institut Lithuania and Rupert Center for Art, Residencies and Education invite you to an evening with filmmaker and artist Bjørn Melhus titled ‘We Are At War. The time between pre- and post-traumatic stress disorder’.
The evening will feature a program of short films created over the past three decades. This program reflects a recurring theme in the artist’s work—from the reunification of Germany in 1990 to the present day, Bjørn Melhus has explored the portrayal of armed conflict in the media and public discourse in various ways. Shown together, these films complicate the notion of linear time, heroes and enemies become unrecognizable, and the aesthetics of militarization intersect with the consequences of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The film program will be accompanied by a conversation between Bjørn Melhus, Rupert curator JL Murtaugh, and curator Aistė Liuka Jonynaite, who accompanied Melhus during his research visit to Lithuania in the summer of 2025. The artist’s research in Lithuania was part of the project ‘Aspects of Presence.’ The result of the research is Melhus’ video work ‘I’m Not the Enemy *Lithuania*’ (2011/2025), a new adaptation of his 2011 film, currently part of the exhibition ‘Bells and Cannons. Contemporary Art in the Face of Militarization’ at the Contemporary Art Center in Vilnius.
Bjørn Melhus is a German-Norwegian video artist who focuses on deconstructing and critically rethinking the visual language of popular media, cinema, and television. Bjørn Melhus has shown his work at numerous international film festivals and has received many awards. He has organized film screenings at Tate Modern and LUX galleries in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MediaScope) in New York, the Pompidou Center in Paris, and elsewhere. His works have been exhibited in such exhibitions as The American Effect at the Whitney Museum in New York, the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, solo and group exhibitions at FACT in Liverpool, the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, ZKM Karlsruhe, the Denver Art Museum, and elsewhere. Melhus lives and works in Berlin, and teaches at the Kassel Art Academy.
‘Aspects of Presence‘ is a joint project of the Goethe-Institut Lithuania, the Contemporary Art Center (CAC) and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. This event is organized in collaboration with the Rupert Center for Art, Residencies, and Education.
