Soviet Apartment Blocks As Bathroom Tiles

 

Visitors to the Galeria Urbana restaurant in Kaunas, Lithuania, can study vistas of Soviet-styled apartment blocks, those vast Lubyankas, as they go. Lithuanian design studio Gyva Grafika created them. They tell us why:

“We got a commission to decorate and old WC and also to keep the old tiles intact. Lithuania often neglects its public spaces. A lot of people live in the cleanest apartments but once they step outside the situation changes completely. Stairwells, yards, and other public spaces are usually abandoned and ignored. For this reason, we introduced the outside to the inside. A classic look of local facades were chosen. The photos were taken in a local neighborhood and transformed into blocks. For the WC tiles stickers were made and a bit later, for a personal show, we also made real tiles. For different cultures and history experiences, people will look at these tiles differently, but for us it is our usual facades that we grew up with.

“Lithuania really wants to become a strong north European country and run away from the dark Soviet occupation history and culture that was introduced to us by force. So these facades are becoming extinct with the EU sponsored renovation projects, but we still have proper time to say goodbye. Not to neglect, but just to accept all, and move forward to a better and more optimistic tomorrow.”

 

 

 

Via Gyva Grafika