Piligrimages. Povandenė.

Lithuanian photography trends in the 1960s were shaped by Antanas Sutkus, Romualdas Rakauskas, Algimantas Kunčius, Aleksandras Macijauskas and other renowned Lithuanian photographers. Romualdas Požerskis appeared on the scene ten years later, For nearly two decades, from 1974 to 1993, Požerskis documented church festivals held in villages around Lithuania. The majority of the images for this series were produced in the style most characteristic of the "Lithuanian School", namely photo reportage, immortalizing the rituals, feasts and the socializing that always took place afterward. Like his older colleagues, Požerskis preserved the imagery of Lithuanian village traditions for future viewers.
Piligrimages series shares one more element in common with Lithuanian photographic tradition: a humanistic world view that united the photographers of the "Lithuanian School". According to Požerskis, art is the ability to grow closer to another human being, rather than an external effect or an unrestrained form of self-expression.
Požerskis' humanistic view of society is clearly revealed in a photograph entitled Piligrimages. Povandenė, of 1978. In the foreground, we see an elderly couple kissing, a symbol of ageless love and a warm human bond, while, in the background, a couple of well-dressed young girls establish a festive mood in a setting that suggests the entire episode is a snapshot of Lithuanian village life.