This Photographer Spent 10 Years Recording The Post-Soviet Discos Of Lithuania

Born in Seattle to Lithuanian parents, Andrew Miksys first reconnected with his roots on a voyage to his ancestors’ country in 1995, before setting off for a year-long expedition in 1999. One night, in a remote village in Lithuania, Andrew discovered an old night club. Immediately taken with the venue and its regulars, the photographer went on to make these social hubs his prime area of focus for the next ten years.

The legacy of a dark past, these village discos often take place in former Soviet offices or prisons with the gas masks and portraits of yesteryear relegated to the back rooms to make room for dance floors and the local youth.

Capturing “promise and potential”, according to their creator, the images have now been compiled into a photo book entitled DISKO. The book hasn’t gone down all that well in Lithuania, however, with some criticising Andrew for displaying the country, which joined the EU in 2004, in a bad light. Nonetheless, the photographer fervently denies the accusations, describing his photos a “celebration” of those who feature.

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