A compelling new exhibition in Dublin offers a profound exploration of memory, identity, and the physical body as a site where lived experience continues to shape the present.
Opening at Gallery X on 30 July and running until 10 August 2026, Echo from the Past – Speak represents a significant milestone in the career of Jana. Curated by Ishmael Claxton, this project highlights photography’s unique ability to vocalize experiences that often resist verbal translation, establishing a sensitive dialogue around vulnerability, healing, and resilience.
Jana’s journey to this exhibition is as complex as the imagery she creates. Born in 2000 in the town of Visaginas, Lithuania, she initially followed a highly technical path, earning a diploma in mechanical engineering in 2019. Seeking an environment rooted in self expression, she relocated to Ireland to study photography at Technological University Dublin, graduating with honors in 2023. This background in engineering combined with a professional internship as a digital archivist at The Library Project in 2021 shaped her unique practice, allowing her to approach visual storytelling with both technical precision and historical awareness.
Today, Jana balances a full time work schedule with her role as Creative Lead of the IOVA Photography Collective, establishing herself as an active voice in the Irish art scene. Her practice seamlessly moves between fine art, editorial photography, and graphic design. Through a blend of conceptual photography, handcrafted installation elements, and performative self portraiture, she examines the psychological spaces that exist between reality and recollection. Her carefully staged scenes use natural lighting, subtle gestures, and sparse interior environments to depict the body as both present and concealed, visible and obscured.
By intentionally disrupting or hiding traditional markers of identity, Jana encourages viewers to reflect on how trauma, recovery, and inner transformation influence our understanding of self. The exhibition deliberately moves past two dimensional images, incorporating tactile, handcrafted installation components that transform the gallery into an immersive environment. Visitors are invited to step inside and walk through the physical space, interacting with the work not just as detached observers but as active participants. Rather than enforcing a rigid storyline, the layout leaves room for individual feelings and private memories to surface in tandem with the visual art.
“Jana’s visual language masterfully navigates the boundary between literal representation and conceptual abstraction. By stripping away standard identifiers and rebuilding physical spaces, she challenges the audience to confront their own internal echoes in a beautifully quiet way.”
This exhibition marks an important evolution toward a research driven approach that blends photographic compositions with physical structures, urging audiences to consider what remains unspoken inside us and how our histories shape who we are today.
Exhibition Details
- Dates: 30 July to 10 August 2026
- Location: Gallery X, Dublin
- Artist and Curator Talk: 8 August 2026
- Closing Gathering: 10 August 2026
- Admission: Free, all welcome
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