RAPTURE II – Portal

Structured as a hypnosis session, this is a trip through an abandoned apartment in the Ukrainian region of Donbas, which has been occupied by Russian troops since 2014. It belonged to vogue dancer Marko, who guides us through his home while he visits it for the first time since 2018, shortly before he fled the war.

For the project RAPTURE II – Portal, the spaces—living room, bedroom, kitchen and hallway—were digitally reconstructed based on photographs of the apartment as he left it behind. But this is not a perfect reconstruction, and parts of the rooms and pieces of the things lying around are missing.

The serene flight is occasionally interrupted by energetic, more abstract outbursts, inspired by Marko’s background as a dancer. They juxtapose the strength of the human body in dance with its vulnerability in the face of war technology. Meanwhile, in voice-over, Marko relates his memories of his home, from the liberation he felt when he first had his own place in the world, to the immense sense of loss now he has been separated from it by war.