DEAD WATER // LIVING WATER

Dead Water (2023)

Dead Water is a poetry film created partly with the help of AI, which draws on the magical practice of “dead water” rooted in Eastern Slavic superstition: Dead washing water can be used to curse someone. As is so often the case, it is a superstition that points to a fear of the magical potential of women: Women can never be trusted to care for the dead. The poem itself was recited by AI-generated voices, the faces are AI-optimized portraits of the artist, which were animated. The soundscape, on the other hand, was composed by the artist herself. Dozens of video sequences of various bodies of water were also collaged.

Living Water (2024)

Poetry film created in collaboration with AI tools, part live action film, part performative machinima, created in a 3D environment that combines both scanned real objects and phygital avatars. Living water in Slavic myths is water that can bring the dead back to life and must be extracted from behind the sea. In some myths, “dead water” can also be used to heal the wounds of a corpse, while “living water” is subsequently used to revive it. Filmed in the thermal spa resort of Methana in Greece, to play with the idea of thermal baths as the embodiment of the healing power of water.

The project is part of the subthemes Technopoetics - AI, Digital Media and the Future of Creativity, Healing Narratives - Poetry, Mental Health and Collective Trauma.