Emilija Škarnulytė
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Emilija Škarnulytė is a Lithuanian-born artist and filmmaker. Working between the realms of the documentary and the imaginary, Škarnulytė makes films and immersive installations exploring deep time and invisible structures. She works in realms that range from the cosmic and geological to the ecological and political.
She most recently presented works at MoMA PS1, Palais de Tokyo, Louisiana MoMA, Villa Medici, MORI Art Museum, Kiasma, Gwangju Biennale, Helsinki Biennale, Penumbra. Her work was presented in solo exhibitions at Kunsthall Trondheim (2024), Canal Projects, NYC (2024), Kunsthaus Göttingen (2024) Ferme-Asile, Sion (2023); Kunsthaus Pasquart, Biel/Bienne (2021); Den Frie, Copenhagen (2021); National Gallery of Vilnius (2021); Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2017); Contemporary Art Centre CAC of Vilnius (2015). An upcoming show at Tate St Ives will open in October 2025.
Prizes awarded to her include the 2023 Ars Fennica Award and the 2019 Future Generation Art Prize. She represented Lithuania at the XXII Triennale di Milano and participated in the Baltic Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. She has films in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Kadist Foundation, Kiasma, Fondazione in between Art and Film, IFA, HAM, FRAC Corsica, LNMA, MO Museum, and private collections. Her works have been screened at the Tate Modern and Serpentine Gallery in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and numerous film festivals, including Oberhausen, Visions du Réel, Rotterdam, Busan, among many others.
She is a founder and currently co-directs Polar Film Lab, a collective for analogue film practice located in Tromsø, Norway and is a member of the artist duo New Mineral Collective.

Tethys
Emilija Škarnulytė
Tethys, 2024
14 minutes, 4K, 3-channel video installation
Tethys,” showcased at La Citadelle in Villefranche-sur-Mer as part of the Saison de la Lituanie en France 2024, prompts viewers to rethink the connections between the artificial and the natural, the cosmic and the earthly, myth and reality. The title references the inscription above the fortress entrance, “Tethys,” which alludes to an ancient Greek sea goddess and a primordial sea that existed long before present-day continents took shape. In the film, Škarnulytė embodies the mermaid chimera, navigating the azure waters and the ruins submerged beneath. While the mermaid is a recurring motif in her work, here she symbolizes Tethys, representing an ancient force linked to both the ocean and swirling galaxies, bridging the gap between a distant past and a post-human future.
Tethys was commissioned by La Citadelle – Centre d’art et Musées thanks to the support of Lietuvos kultūros institutas / Lithuanian Culture Institute and l’Institut Français. Exhibition curated by Camille Frasca and Mėta Valiušaitytė.
Written and directed by: Emilija Škarnulytė
Cinematographer: Eitvydas Doškus
Editing: Vytautas Tinteris
Composer: Tuomas A. Laitinen
Executive producer: Elena Veleckaitė, assisted by Deividas Katkus
Light design: Adomas Kaikaris
Goddess: Elena Veleckaitė
Drone Pilot: Davey Whitcraft, Vytautas Tinteris
Production: Mirror Matter Productions