Eva Fomitski and Antuum (Ukraine/Austria)

Bio

Eva Fomitski is an artist and curator from Ukraine, currently based in Graz, Austria. Her artistic practice explores social and political discourses, including established behavioral models and unresolved past experiences that continue to influence our present reality. Currently, her main interest lies in exploring the complexities of collective memory and the mindset shaped by post-colonial experiences. She`s intrigued by problematic periods of history and their connection to the present. Main mediums: photography, installation, and video.

Antuum is a sound artist, composer, cellist, and improviser based in Graz, Austria. His work focuses on performing and building sound sculptures and kinetic installations, as well as live coding. His computer music practice is characterized by spatial constructs and digital soundscapes that circulate between cyber-lounge aesthetics and physical modeling. Physical modeling is used as a way to explore the corporeality of synthesized sound and to embody the abstract into the concrete sonic forms.

Project

Exhibition “Water spell” was presented as an installation which was made made from artifacts found in Narva. The structure is built on columns of textile reels, referring to the architecture of Krenholm and its heritage.

The concept is based on the folk belief in “water spells” — a ritual practice where water is seen as a carrier of human intentions, emotions, and wishes. Water is believed to absorb and transmit information, becoming a tool for achieving desired outcomes. If water can be spoken for good things, can it also be filled with destructive meaning? 

During the residency, we conducted an experiment: can words, language, and tone truly affect matter? We followed the ritual’s instructions — which forbid swearing — and deliberately broke this rule. On one side of the installation, you can see and hear water infused with Estonian spells; on the other, recordings of curses. So The water creates a contrast between harmonizing influence and destructive noise.

In this way, the installation becomes a metaphor for cultural coexistence, where opposing energies meet and interact. This water was taken from the Narva River — a border that both connects and divides. The jars of water serve as a metaphor for hybrid identities in this border region, where harmony and tension constantly overlap in dialogue.