Galaxy of Suffering VR project

This project uses Neural Radiance Fields (an AI technique for volumetric rendering), driven by music’s audio properties, to create a visual narrative depicting the destruction of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra’s buildings, which were occupied for over 30 years by the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Lavra symbolically represents the religious organization that supported Russia’s attack on Ukraine, resulting in the massacre of women in Irpin and Bucha. Each atrocity against a female victim intensifies the destruction, forming a galaxy of suffering.

The work highlights the precarious situation of women during wartime. The accompanying music is taken from the third part of the symphonic work Saga Wisniowiecka, dedicated to a historical female persona who was hanged without trial - a fate common to many women in the 17th century. This underscores that, for over 200 years, the position of women during wartime has remained unchanged. Even in the 21st century, women continue to be vulnerable and deprived of rights in military conflicts.

The rendered version of the application was premiered during the “Reflecting Change” exhibition at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery of Art. It was then showcased at the “Resonant Worlds” exhibition at the Backlit Gallery of Art in Nottingham and the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton-on-Trent, among others, as part of the EPSRC-funded project realisation.