"The order arose from pagan beads and incantations and was initially based on the power of the human word, then on the authority of the deity invoked, then on the authority of the conspirator and the conviction of believers; the power of the order in the exact pronunciation of certain words and the performance of accompanying rites." In difficult times, people turn to the search for the sacred, the spiritual, and the ineffable. In an attempt to transcend his reality, man acquires the need to believe. There is a revival of interest in ancient rituals, folklore practices, alternative ways of manifesting spirituality — belief in the possibility of human transformation and healing. In various cultures, these edges of experience exist as the prerogatives of the shaman, the sorcerer, the healer, the whisperer. For ten years, Siarhei Lesket studied this mystical and hidden world of "village witchcraft", traveled to distant villages, documented and archived the testimonies of bearers of "sacred knowledge". This hidden and guarded practice of "healing with words" gradually became obvious: documentary photos of whispering healers and herbalists, reportage videos of healing rituals, a collection of things and attributes, interview texts. The entire archive of artifacts and images collected by the author will become material for the curator's statement. How do you make transcendent experiences visible and magical connections evident? The authors of the project find a form with the help of modern art as a tool, a way of expression - sound, video, documentary photography, installation, connected by a symbolic red line, awaken hidden knowledge, reveal connections, are a way of merging with the almost extinct cultural tradition of ancestors. The process of "enchanting the world" unfolds before our eyes (to paraphrase the words of the German sociologist M. Weber), in which everyday things, ordinary actions turn into a part of the magical process. In this case, the artist and the curator do not use a scientific and rational approach, but intuitive, unconventional methods designed for sensual, non-rational perception - a method of "taming" the world tested by our predecessors.

Text: Olga Rybchinskaya

Selected exhibition projects:

2021 — Genius loci. Genius lost. NCCA, Minsk.

2018 — Whisper, Chongqing Art Museum, China.

2017 — Whisper, show at Tbilisi Photo Festival, Georgia.

2017 — Whisper, show and performance, Land Art Festival, Poland.