Your Land, My Land
2026
My family has lived in the border region around Narva for generations. My father’s family comes from the village of Zagrivje in Narvataguse, an area east of the Narva River that is now on the Russian side of the border and is no longer accessible to us. This land was part of Estonia between the 1920s and 1940s, before the border shifted again. This changing landscape, and the
borders that have separated and reconnected these places over time, have been an important part of my artistic research for many years.
In 2022, I filmed both banks of the Narva River from the ferry travelling between Narva and Narva-Jõesuu. The soundtrack brings together words and sounds from different times and sources including my own body. I wrote part of the text myself while filming on the ferry, which is spoken by three voices in three languages. Another part is lyrics of a song that comes from an
archive from the border region. I asked my nephew, Zakhar, to compose music for these words, which were once sung in our family’s region. Musician Mar Karpova then created a sound piece that unfolds throughout the ferry journey, bringing together words from different centuries and voices of different generations.
Soundscape: Mar Karpova
Song written and played by: Zahhar Kapajev
Voices: Maria Kapajeva, Jake Shepherd, Aries Puusepp