Politics and Poetry Collide In Filmmaker Mykola Ridnyi's New Work

In 1819, the great romantic poet and satirist Lord Byron wrote Mazeppa. In short, the poem agonisingly conveys a sharp realisation of suffering and endurance by chronicling the life of the 17th-century Ukrainian leader Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709) and his love affair with a Polish Countess, Theresa. The poem's cultural legacy lives on through Ukraine's independence, granted in 1991. Revitalised during this time, the poem went on to be held as a symbol of hope and resistance rather than collective 'defection', which, to little surprise, is how Alexander Pushkin sees the leader, or at least according to his counter poem Poltava, written nine years later in 1928. Everything Mazeppa was to Lord Byron, he was the opposite to Pushkin, who sees the figure as a 'traitor', naturally following the colonial attitude of the Russian Empire.

Asking the question 'traitor or romantic hero?', Ukrainian artist Mykola Ridnyi put his filmmaking abilities into practice, creating The Battle Over Mazepa, which is now on show at John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton, in partnership with Pushkin House. Addressing codes of hip-hop culture, Ridnyi borrows the popular form of a rap battle to collide both Lord Byron's Mazeppa and Pushkin's Poltava, where confrontation is underscored by four rappers, attentively chosen by Freie Universität Berlin professor Susanne Strätling. Elie, Moh, Caxxianne and Exo - all from different national and cultural backgrounds - were briefed to dissect the idealised and imperialist Mazepa narratives of the two poems by writing a modern interpretation of it in response. All interpretations were performed as part of a rap battle, which was captured by Ridnyi's lens.

Commenting on the artistic method in which these poems are put up for debate, Ridnyi said in a statement to press:

'When we are thinking of contemporary genres of poetic expression, which are full of tension and political messages, as well as passions, desires and lust, various forms of hip-hop culture come to mind. Personal attitudes and artistic reactions towards each other are very characteristic for rap artists. Why not look at Byron and Pushkin's contradictions through a lens of present-time music and explore them by means of rap battle and diss tracks, which seem not so far from the competition between poets of the 19th century?'

The question of 'traitor or romantic hero?' isn't just a nonsense intellectual probe: it's been made all the more relevant today when looked at in the context of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. As the battle's resulting verses blend historical themes with current sentiments in world affairs, it's impossible not to link events that took place centuries ago with the on-ground invasions and military takeovers happening today - whether they be in Ukraine, Palestine or Armenia. Pushkin and Lord Byron used poetry to communicate their feelings on inter-political conflicts, Ridnyi uses rap.