Neophyte III: On the Eve of the Shortest Night

Neophyte Cycle (2019 – present) is a multimedia project that delves into the profound connection between the human psyche and the natural world within socio-political crises.
The first two parts were filmed in Belarus, while the third was captured in Poland near the Polish/Belarusian border.
Neophyte III‘ embodies the author’s interpretation of the Slavic Summer Solstice celebration, known as Kupala Night. Engaging young Belarusian emigrants as performers, the video captures an immersive ritualistic experience revising an archaic sense of circular time and questioning the accelerationist linearity. Through fire and water, participants experience liminality, blending with the central element – pine resin, the ancient quintessence of vitality, and the metaphor for an unstable human nature.