Sayapina / Kapitonova / Davis: 'EVE’ MEANS ‘TO LIVE’

Eve (Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chavva) meaning 'giving life' or 'living) - According to the origin story of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman ,the wife of Adam and foremother of the human race.
On June 13, 2020 The Corporate collection of Belgazprombank's paintings, representing about 150 works of art, including the first original works by internationally renowned Belarusian artists in Belarus, was tied to a criminal case and confiscated. This event took place during a pre-election campaign in which the ex-director of the bank Victor Babariko was one of the key candidates. The painting "Eva" by Chaim Sutin, the queen of the collection, became the main symbol of people’s disagreement, some of which were voiced under the name of #evolution.
“There are many works in this collection, but Eva is not the one to be looked at - rather she looks at the viewer. She is strict and serious, arms crossed over her chest as if demanding accountability for our own actions ”(Olga Shparaga)
This video work was created in the same period as a reaction of disagreement with the politicization of art and with the political repressions that had begun, but it was not completed. Six months later, in January 2021, data from human rights defenders were published, according to which more than 33,000 citizens were detained from the start of the election campaign in May until the end of 2020. By this time, about eight dead are considered to be the victims of the protests, and the investigative authorities have not initiated criminal cases into the deaths of A. Taraikovsky, G. Shutov, A. Vikhor and R. Bondarenko.
The image which had been created earlier, as well as the symbolism of the name ‘Eve’ itself, acquired a new direct connotation, which became the reason to complete this work, dedicated to the victims, in protest against violence.

concept, modelling: Nadya Sayapina
video: Tanya Kapitonova
editing: Dasha Brian
body painting: Anna Smolyakova
music: Gareth Davis