THE HAY COLLECTOR
(HARVESTING STRUCTURE NO.3)

Installation produced during Magic Carpets residency in Kaunas, Lithuania.
It was inspired by the authenticity of Raudondvaris Manor and the Neo-Romantic horse stables, where the Arts Incubator is located.
The Hay Collector is an utopian adaptation of a hay harvesting tool, inspired from a traditional hay drying tripod structure, made from wooden beams that can be found in rural areas of Eastern Europe, Latvia or and Romania. Its structure is decorated with the colorful tassels and bells, used to protect the horses from bad spirits. The sculpture also creates a dialogue with the abandoned factories of Raudondvaris that during the Soviet era, produced agricultural machinery and tools - The Lithuanian Institute of Agricultural Mechanisation and Electrification moved to the premises of the manor in1957.
The work was built with the generous help of young people of Raudondvaris: Motiejus, Vaidas, Jonas, Viltė, Simas, Rugilė, Osvaldas, Gabrielė, Patricija, Rapolas, Goda, Marta, Mykolas, Vilius, Austėja and Carlo.

Location: Arts Incubator, Raudondvaris, Kaunas district, Lithuania

Exhibited in the group show 'From Place to Community, From Community to Place' at Raudondvaris Arts Incubator
16.09 – 15.10.2023. Part of Kaunas Biennial 14.

Photos by Gintare Zaltauskaite

Dan Vezentan