Ghosts—Forms, objects, video Full HD 10'40''
The video shows the farmlands near my home village. During World War II, there was a Nazi crematorium there. The bodies of the genocide victims were burned, buried, scattered across the fields, and thrown into the river. The crematorium existed from December 6, 1943, to early April 1944, when the area was plowed. Nowadays, there are fields of wheat, potatoes, rapeseed, and other plants. The experience of living in places of mass violence in the past is shared by different countries in Central and Eastern Europe. History repeats in contemporary Ukraine. Performative forms of remembering that appear in the recordings are attempts to locate the memory space in a picturesque landscape and mark it with objects-signs. It is also about retelling the history of a place and remembering it from the perspective of the next generation.
The objects are inspired by the tradition of creating roadside crosses and shrines. Most often, they were painted on wood and decorated with various materials, such as ribbons, flowers, or fabrics. To this day, similar objects can be found in rural spaces. They prove the need to experience spirituality – not within an institution, but close to nature, in connection with the rhythm of the seasons and natural space. The works take the form of shrines, roadside crosses, letters, and sometimes indicators, signaling places of special importance, but often unrecognizable to an outside observer.
Camera operator: Karol Jakóbczyk Sound design: Alex Banaszkiewicz Editing: Magdalena Ciemierkiewicz, Rafał Kruszka
