Information about D. Dubauskas’s death was confirmed by his close friends to 15min. There is no official confirmation from institutions or family yet.
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“So suddenly, unexpectedly you left everything on earth. Easy clouds,” reads one of such messages.
“Rest in peace, you were one of the most memorable people in Vilnius,” says another post on D. Dubauskas’s Facebook profile.
Many shared that this news shocked them and was very unexpected.
Donatas Dubauskas was one of those unique personalities of Vilnius, whom it was hard to pass unnoticed in the city center. The artist with an extravagant appearance was known or at least seen by many Vilnius residents, and due to his distinctive image, he was often simply called “the Indian.” In fact, this was one of his life period styles; he liked to change his image but was always distinctive and chameleonic.
Throughout his life, D. Dubauskas tried many different activities. He guarded strategic Lithuanian sites, created scenography details, worked as a puppet theater prop maker, sewed clothes, and later turned to business and opened unique bars in the capital. His environment reflected the North American Indian culture that fascinated him for many years, and later the “steam punk” aesthetic.
D. Dubauskas himself described Vilnius as a city of free people, where a person’s origin is not important, and anyone can become a Vilnius resident regardless of where they came from.
This idea well reflected him as well – a bright, hard-to-fit-into-frames city person who gradually became a familiar part of Vilnius’s cultural landscape.
An inseparable part of D. Dubauskas’s image was his self-made “penny farthing” style bicycle, which he rode through the streets of Vilnius for almost a decade. The unique vehicle, like its owner, attracted passersby’s attention – D. Dubauskas not only built the bicycle himself but also constantly improved it, decorating it with leather, metal details, and other elements reminiscent of an antique style.
His creativity was not limited to aesthetics. D. Dubauskas has said that he liked to make many things himself, and he considered the reuse of old and broken items not only a form of creativity but also responsible consumption. “The more variety in life – the more fun. You cannot give up your individuality,” the artist said.
Vilnius was not only his place of residence but also a space where he could be himself. D. Dubauskas especially liked riding his bicycle in the Old Town, especially in the evenings, as well as in Žvėrynas and Vingis Park. He said he was in no hurry anywhere and simply enjoyed the city and the movement while riding.
His attitude towards life was best described by his own words: “I rest with my bicycle and catch the pleasure of life. I am in no hurry, I don’t need to ride fast. I just enjoy the ride.”
D. Dubauskas had a tendency to create and stand out since childhood. He learned to sew while still young – at that time, the desired clothes were not always available to buy, so he altered them himself. He would take apart old pants, narrow or widen them, combine different materials. “Those were the punk times,” he has said about that period.
For many years, Vilnius residents recognized D. Dubauskas also because of his image related to his interest in North American Indian culture. However, the nickname “Lithuanian Indian” eventually became disliked by the artist himself. He has said that after several decades, such a description began to bother him, and people’s reactions sometimes became absurd – for example, they even asked him to “bring rain.”
Over time, he became more interested in the “steam punk” aesthetic, and one of the most prominent areas of D. Dubauskas’s creativity became antique large-wheeled bicycles. Alongside them, he created clothes, leather goods, accessories, and interior details, but he has openly said that it became increasingly difficult to make a living from handmade creations.
D. Dubauskas tried to transfer his creative approach to the bar spaces of Vilnius as well. One of his ideas was the art bar “Garinis angelas,” which aimed to combine a bar and a gallery and provide artists with a place to present their works for free. It was important to D. Dubauskas that creativity had space to unfold and that people would not be afraid of their uniqueness.
He was a bright personality of Vilnius, about whom his friends said that the Old Town of Vilnius would be completely different without him. And now many say that his death has left a great void.
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