Lament, Song for Transitions

Lamenting is an age-old oral tradition that combines singing and weeping. All over the world, women traditionally sang – and still sing – these songs at transitional moments in life such as funerals and weddings, upon the departure of a loved one going off to war, or simply to commiserate about the hardships of life. The lamentation ritual is used to express sorrow and grief, to heal hurts and traumas, and to bridge the past with the present to forge ahead into the future. was made after a workshop organized by artist Mathilde ter Heijne during her stay at Suomenlinna, Finland in 2010, for which the singer Pirkko Fihlman was invited to teach the nearly forgotten Karelian ancient techniques of lamenting. Incorporated in the video is footage of a reenactment that became Finland’s first ethnological film: : (1921). Various types of video transitions like cut, fade, wipe, mix, dissolve and crossfade are used to move from one shot to another. But rather than creating a smooth linear story, these transitions become an important element in the video, bringing focus onto the spaces or moments in between different situations and locations.