Author: Polina Kuznetsova
Camera operator: Eva Neidlinger
Assistant: Hanna Kroitor
Performative video work, created in the village of Baranivka (Poltava region, Ukraine)
This piece is an attempt to grasp the history of black soil in a way that resonates with the senses.
Recalling the childhood game of making "kasha-malasha”, I recreate a family dinner, something sorely missed in times of separation.
I turn to a sensory experiment, feeling unable to comprehend the history of my land in any other way. A history that moves in circles, slipping from memory only to repeat itself once again. It repeats precisely because the witnesses of this history are endlessly lost to the endless genocide.
The shortest path I find for myself is to reach out directly to the soil. Timothy Snyder calls these lands “bloodlands,” yet they are black.
Black and fertile.
Rich to the taste.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n2_TxuovJUt53rm36toMul4NFwvmpjUp/view?usp=drivesdk
CHORNOZEM Fertile black soil, rich in humus, born mostly in the steppe and forest-steppe, formed from clay, silt, or yellow earth under a continental climate. Chernozem covers nearly 60% of Ukraine, while globally it makes up only 6% of the Earth’s surface. A third of the world’s reserves of this valuable soil are concentrated here. And when used wisely, it yields abundant harvests.
(From the vastness of the Internet)
In childhood, there was a game — making "kasha-malasha”.The recipe was simple: soil from grandma’s garden, water from a nearby puddle, and whatever came to hand — a plum, grass, tree leaves, a marigold flower, sand… We’d stir the thick mixture with a stick for a long time, enjoying every second. And the drink? Cherry juice squeezed between dirty fingers, or if it was autumn, we’d use grapes. We didn’t eat "kasha-malasha" — we were smart kids. Our dishes were reserved for dolls only.
My large family was always nearby. Now they are in evacuation.