Pray
from the project «Х Letters»
Video , 5:00, 2022
concept, modelling by Nadya Sayapina
music, video and post-production by Eugene Buldyk
vocals by Neue Vocalsolisten ensemble
based on the text by Stanislav Turina
»Oh Lord, you allowed me to return home today
Outside the doors there is a garden
«Lights out, Christ–in
Guardian angels watch over me»
You are here, oh Lord
Sounds of explosions open the heart
Lord, you gave us so much strength to spare that we use to bicker and argue, thank you
Lord, teach us now to contend well
Teach good-hearted folk to guard each other from a harsh word
Grant mastery of the word to those who need it so much in this hour
Lord, safeguard us in the quiet of the night
Archangels, unsheath your swords and give last chance for our enemy to stop
May people who are in danger overcome it atop a crocodile and with an utmost open hand repel the lion and the hippo
With fire and sword guard us, oh Lord!
Abandon us not in this darkest hour
All I have I lay at your feet oh Christ
And as a Sirin, I cry out towards the heavens«
(Translated from Ukrainian by Mikita Piaskou)
«Х Letters»
2022- up to present
Our reflections, statements, notes, memoirs, interviews, discussions and debates of posts, stories and comments are drowned in the endless depths of social media feeds, censored and self-censored. Textualised self-expression and reflection of context in the public space of networks loses its value and relevance in the mass stream. This creates an urgent need to press the »save« button, to archive, to transform it into the basis of a chronicle of time.
»X Letters« is a video-diary that correlates and combines into one »book« different contexts and human stories reflecting the theme of exile, migration and refugees, loss of home, choice, adaptation and existential crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and political repressions in Belarus. It is a memorial of personal experiences and reflections, archived from social media posts and comments and interview fragments collected by the artist as part of her research.
The project by the artist Nadya Sayapina and the musician Eugene Buldyk in collaboration with the ensemble Neue Vocalsolisten was launched in 2022 as part of the ECHOES–Voices from Belarus IV programme of Musik der Jahrhunderte Stuttgart e.V..