Žygymantas Menchenkovas: "You have to admit your inability and not think that the problem is in you."

Žygymantas Menchenkovas became interested in philosophy while still at school, when he read Christine Schulz-Reiss's book "I'm interested in philosophy" in the library. Even though he didn't understand anything then, as he says himself, philosophy fascinated him all the time because of its mysticism. Now Žygymantas is a 1st year PhD student in philosophy. The guy has a hearing impairment, but is actively involved in social, political and artistic activities: "As a philosopher, I'm interested in getting to know, gaining all kinds of experience, so that I can talk about different things as accurately as possible, think more abstractly."

What activities do you do outside of your studies?

First of all, I work as a philosophy teacher. It is a great joy to work with students, especially when they discover the philosophical issues we are talking about in their everyday experiences. Also, I am a member of the student movement "Shauksmas". This year I became a member of the VMU Student Parliament. I belong to several trade unions. I am also very interested in the field of art: painting, photography, cinema, writing.

How did painting appear in your life?

After my undergrad, I took a break and knew I wanted to give it a shot. I was very inspired by the biography of the painter Vincent van Gogh. He has not completed any painting studies, and while looking for support, he found it in this art, instead of the canvas, which he could not get, using potato sacks.

I myself, at first, drew a flower on a small format. Now I paint each painting for a specific person, to whom I give it. When I paint, I think about that person and that's how I try to get to know him. Every time I try to imitate that person's favorite painter as well. When I'm done, I don't keep the painting with me for long. So it turns out that each of my works creates its own story, its own life.

How did you discover photography?

I found it interesting, so I just bought a camera and started. Connected to a social network Instagram I told myself that I would try to share my photos there, but I had no pretensions to myself. I also tried film cameras, but eventually I realized that there was not enough time to develop professionally and I had to choose which genre of art to devote my time to. In photography, I practiced a style where one color is chosen. Maybe that's why I was more attracted to painting. The color theory revealed in it has great magic and power.

Ironically, I love to paint people the most, but I'm not interested in photographing them. I mostly capture nature, cultural artifacts, symbols, oddities with my camera.

You have also made several films, what are they about?

Yes, I really wanted to get to know the art of cinema and create something myself, so I joined the VDU Media Laboratory initiative and we made two films with the creative group.

The first is documentary. It was created to commemorate the 16th century of February. We wanted to reveal that each person interprets the concept of Lithuania in their own way, so we interviewed as many different people as possible. This is how the film "The Tale of the Kings" was born, about different Lithuanias through different experiences of people. I was committed to the process of making the film and I was really interested.

We made the second film with the same team, only this time it was a feature film. We participated in the filmmaking festival "Odisėja72". We adventurously made a short film called "Letting Her Go" about a brother-sister relationship, the loss of a sister and anxiety.

What does creativity give you?

It may sound trite, but I am captivated by beauty: I am interested in conveying to others the beauty that I see myself. According to the philosopher Emanuel Levinas, generosity is a condition for the appearance of objects - you need to be able to give up what belongs to you. So, for example, when I paint, the painting seems to belong to me, but the ability to give it to someone else is like a proof of generosity and humanity.

Has a hearing impairment. Have you ever had to limit yourself or give up some activities because of this?

It's hard to say because I have nothing to compare it to. When a person has something and loses it, he can answer the following question. I've lived with it since I was a child and I can't always draw the boundaries that I should be able to, but I can't.

Of course, there are specific situations when my hearing aid stops working or the battery dies, so I can't hear what my interlocutor is saying. Then I just agree with what he says and hope it doesn't matter.

There are also certain moments when it is difficult to participate in society. You want to be accepted as an equal member of society, but two radical poles appear: either we perceive you as completely healthy and you have to adapt to the circumstances yourself, or you are disabled and do not have the opportunity to participate somewhere.

The problem is also that not being able to do something is incomprehensible. There is a belief in society that a person is fulfilled when he participates everywhere. The question should be raised: maybe it's not always worth participating everywhere? And in this place, disability helps to set priorities. You have to admit your inability and not think that the problem is with you. The problem is in the regulations.

Is there something you've wanted to do for a long time, but haven't decided?

The simple answer would be to thank my parents for daring to love me.