At the time, Kaunas felt completely stagnant — as if time was passing but nothing ever changed. The city itself was the subject of jokes. The snail became an ironic symbol of this helpless situation, moving so slowly. Years later, the city began to transform rapidly, and today Kaunas is arguably one of the fastest-changing cities in the country.

The action itself was illegal, unsanctioned, and done without any approvals. This made it my favorite kind of “economical” intervention: all it took was filling in the empty spaces with black paint, and the enormous snail emerged naturally. Simple, yet effective — genius in its own way. The piece took me two mornings to complete.

The work was installed on the abandoned “Respublika” hotel, which has since been demolished and replaced by modern business centers.

Personal project.