Gawęda/Kulbokaitė debut at Rome's Basement with identity-focused show

The international artist duo Dorota Gawęda (b. 1986, Lublin) and Eglė Kulbokaitė (b. 1987, Kaunas) present their first solo exhibition in Rome, 'Spit and Image', at Basement gallery from April 28 to July 10, 2026. The show explores contemporary identity construction through sculpture, installation, and video, transforming the space into a threshold where real and digital boundaries dissolve. Works include 'Yield (twinning)' (2025), stainless steel floral mirrors that reflect and 'observe' viewers, evoking surveillance; 'Spit and Image 1 & 2' (2025) featuring fragmented and deformed bodies; and the olfactory installation 'Mirror Mirror' (2025). The Slavic vampire figure upiór—a creature with two souls—serves as a metaphor for fluid, non-binary identities. The duo, both graduates of the Royal College of Art in London, develop a multidisciplinary practice merging performance, video, sculpture, and writing, often referencing marginal cultural imaginaries and non-Western traditions. The exhibition also engages with Jacques Derrida's concept of hauntology, where past and future intertwine.