Baba’s Foots was performed in the non-denominational Memorial Chapel on April 16, 2023, Orthodox Easter. This work ran for approximately 45 minutes, featuring a collage of sample-based composition, pre-composed fixed media, digital and acoustic improvisation, costume, and projection-mapped 3D renderings.
The work stands as a constellation of grief, celebration, and uncertainty. The lyrics sung at the start of the piece come from a song I wrote called Leafmode:
Leafmode and the projection-mapped visuals—the harmonic and aesthetic seeds of the performance—make use of prominent Ukrainian folk motifs: the tree and the sun. The tree of life and the sun are recurring symbols found in almost all aspects of Ukrainian folk art, especially in objects that retain ritual significance during seasonal holidays, such as the pysanka (Easter egg).
The pysanka is a bearer of good fortune and protection. The Orthodox Church accepted this tradition after Ukraine’s Christianization, and today, pysanky are blessed by Orthodox clergy on Easter. The tree of life is often incorporated into pysanka designs in the form of branches or leaves, while the sun appears as a windmill, a circle with dots, a cross, or a six- or eight-petal rosette.
The repetitive application of sun and tree of life symbolism to personal rituals and objects endows these symbols with talismanic powers, contributing to the preservation of community life and Ukrainian creativity.
Through this work, I invoke баба (Baba, a Ukrainian grandmother and natural healer). The title is also a nod to an improvisation interface featured in the performance, which I call Bubblefoots.![]()
This interface is designed to promote ever-shifting bubbling textures and complex polyrhythms. Bubblefoots facilitates the sonic layering of samples, creating a highly textural rhythmic space that invites immersion and movement. Improvisers respond to the evolving textures, crafting playful yet often unstable environments.
The work stands as a constellation of grief, celebration, and uncertainty. The lyrics sung at the start of the piece come from a song I wrote called Leafmode:
“Just like the sun I’m always bright,
always sweet, and always nice.
Just like a tree,
I have leaves of green,
Watching for whatever you need.
But breezes fall and make me sway.
I wonder if it’s all okay.”
Leafmode and the projection-mapped visuals—the harmonic and aesthetic seeds of the performance—make use of prominent Ukrainian folk motifs: the tree and the sun. The tree of life and the sun are recurring symbols found in almost all aspects of Ukrainian folk art, especially in objects that retain ritual significance during seasonal holidays, such as the pysanka (Easter egg).
The pysanka is a bearer of good fortune and protection. The Orthodox Church accepted this tradition after Ukraine’s Christianization, and today, pysanky are blessed by Orthodox clergy on Easter. The tree of life is often incorporated into pysanka designs in the form of branches or leaves, while the sun appears as a windmill, a circle with dots, a cross, or a six- or eight-petal rosette.
The repetitive application of sun and tree of life symbolism to personal rituals and objects endows these symbols with talismanic powers, contributing to the preservation of community life and Ukrainian creativity.
Through this work, I invoke баба (Baba, a Ukrainian grandmother and natural healer). The title is also a nod to an improvisation interface featured in the performance, which I call Bubblefoots.
This interface is designed to promote ever-shifting bubbling textures and complex polyrhythms. Bubblefoots facilitates the sonic layering of samples, creating a highly textural rhythmic space that invites immersion and movement. Improvisers respond to the evolving textures, crafting playful yet often unstable environments.
Katarina Mazur (Voice + Harp + Fixed Media)
Tobais Haus (Voice + Organ)
Nat Baldwin (Bass)
Y. Alejandra Martinez Rico (BubbleFoots)
Zheqin Li (BubbleFoots)
Parsa Ferdowsi (Santor)
Emerson Jenisch (Hammered Dulcimer)
Julia Bodian (Projection-Mapped Visuals).