Unseen, Unheard (Nematyta, negirdėta) is an audiovisual installation by Kristijonas Dirsė that explores stories from Vilnius’s queer community, examining their visibility and invisibility within the urban environment. The project is built on the principles of documentary audio theatre, constructed from personal testimonies and urban soundscapes recorded in the places they describe. In this virtual documentary, you will hear the personal stories of nine queer people, taking you to 14 locations across Vilnius.
Sound architecture is a vital layer of the installation, developed during an international residency in Paris in collaboration with the French National Center for Musical Creation, La Muse en Circuit, and composer Alexandre Menexiadis. The installation uses a quadraphonic sound system. This four-channel spatialised audio allows the audience to physically experience shifting voices and urban acoustics, immersing them in the locations described in the testimonies.
The installation will be launched at 17:30 on September 5 and will be open daily from 16:00 to 19:00 on September 6–9.
September 5, 2026, 5.30 PM (launch)
Meno avilys, A. Goštauto g. 2, Vilnius
September 6–9, 2026, 4.00–7.00 PM
Meno avilys, A. Goštauto g. 2, Vilnius
The visual projection is based on photogrammetry technology, the three-dimensional scanning of real-world locations throughout Vilnius. These scanned places are transformed into 3D objects, creating realistic yet virtual scenes. The digital glitches, distortions, and fragmentations that naturally occur during the scanning process resonate both with queer perspectives and the subjective nature of memory.
The project is an international collaboration led by director Kristijonas Dirsė, in collaboration with French sound artist and composer Alexandre Menexiadis, who is creating the spatialized sound. The project’s content, methodology, and sources have been developed through an ongoing dialogue with a dedicated network of LGBTQ+ researchers, activists, and artists. Crucial contributions, consultations, and creative insights have been provided by researchers and activists Artūras Tereškinas, Viktorija Kolbešnikova, and Augustas Čičelis, as well as “išgirsti” and “Meno Avilys.” The creative team also includes playwright Rimantas Ribačiauskas, composer and sound artist Andrius Šiurys, and scenographer Karolina Klimavičiūtė.
Visit krisdirse.com for more information about the artist and the work.
