Bring Back My Fire Gods
Kristina Norman’s video Bring Back My Fire Gods is based on a performative intervention at the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn. A holy site for the Estonian nation, the place is associated with the Singing Revolution and the gaining of independence from the USSR in 1991. Nearly one-third of Estonian population speaks Russian as their first language, and Norman’s piece is an artistic comment to the recent discussion on the impossibility of including a song in Russian into the repertoire of the festival which celebrates national unity and continuity. Norman messes around with the main symbols of the festival – the grounds is occupied by a solo singer, the festival fire is brought down from the tower, and the singing is happening in Russian and Estonian at once, the lyrics referring to the distress of a people in a distant country.