Maria Kapajeva is an artist working between the UK and Estonia and exhibiting internationally. Through her artistic practice, Kapajeva looks at the identity questions of peoples being in-between or in-transition, often bringing peripheral stories to the visible centre. Kapajeva practice is multidisciplinary: she works with found and vernacular photographic images, video installations, textile and embroidery and participatory practices.

Maria Kapajeva

Visuals

<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">The poems were originally published in the book a year-long scream (2024, OPA! Publishing). The book is published in three languages: Estonian, English and Russian.</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">24.05.2022</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-165x300.jpg 165w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-565x1024.jpg 565w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-435x788.jpg 435w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-559x1013.jpg 559w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-620x1125.jpg 620w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-745x1350.jpg 745w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-993x1800.jpg 993w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-1086x1969.jpg 1086w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample3-copy-scaled.jpg 1412w" data-sizes="auto" width="1412" height="2560" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Maria Kapajeva, Fluid Borders, 2023.</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



anastasia



her parents are 75 and 82



were moved from mariupol



she was meeting them in narva



she happened to be in paris with her family



they went there on holiday



and stayed there



her parents wanted to go back to ukraine



and her children studied under the french system



so in france they were placed in a public school



the parents were coming



from mariupol



they will be sent to wherever the train goes



taganrog



otradniy near samara



in samara they asked a camp manager



to get them a ticket to petersburg



he did



everyone wants to get to



the filtration camp where he works



he is humane



two nights in a train



petersburg



an acquaintance drove them to ivangorod



narva-tallinn



tallinn-warsaw by plane



warsaw-budapest by plane



crossing the border by car in beregovo



then to kyiv



more than 6000 km



from ukraine to ukraine



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">11.07.2022</h2>



you need a human being



especially during the war time



not somewhere faraway and all-understanding



but near by



close by



skin to skin



so that no words are necessary



so she could decide for both of us



about holidays



about rest



where to how and when



some impossible decisions



for me now



so she could hug me



when we both need it



even after the war



really need



for the war to stop



and a human being



needs another human being



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-300x150.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-1800x900.jpg 1800w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-2000x1000.jpg 2000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-2400x1200.jpg 2400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-3000x1500.jpg 3000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-3500x1750.jpg 3500w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="1280" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Maria Kapajeva, Fluid Borders, 2023.</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">16.09.2022</h2>



just yesterday



i sent a message



to a family from izyum



that now lives in estonia



congratulating them



with the liberation of their town



but today



i have heard the news



about more than 400 bodies found there…



my greetings now



sound like a curse



and facebook continues



to edit my text



by highlighting the word ‘greetings’



so you see the balloons flying while reading it



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-300x55.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-1024x189.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-1400x258.jpg 1400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-1800x331.jpg 1800w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-2000x368.jpg 2000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-2400x442.jpg 2400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-3000x552.jpg 3000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-3500x645.jpg 3500w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/luule-punane-pikk-1-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="471" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Maria Kapajeva, Fluid Borders, 2023.</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">22.09.2022</h2>



yesterday in the euronews



one man at the protest in belgium said



it is all because of the war



the prices for gas and energy raised



he refuses to accept it as his issue also



i am angry



yesterday i saw



brave women



brave people



in iran



fighting for their rights



to be as they want to be



hundreds got arrested



i am crying



today i am writing to my nephew



in petersburg



that he heeds to hide



to wait out



to go out



otherwise he won&#8217;t escape



the mobilisation



it’s not even clear



if bribes will help



if there will be a chance



to offer them



the law doesn’t work there anymore



i am worrying



azov soldiers were freed



but not all of them



but these ones are alive



a friend is going back



to ukraine



she cannot bear anymore



to live away from her home



she’d rather be in her native land



even if it’s not safe



i am anxious



i am making art



and it loses its meaning



right away



it doesn’t even help me



losing any sense



of why art is needed



if i cannot fully express with it



what i feel



all i want is to scream



i got a call from a dentist



tomorrow finally i get my tooth fixed



maybe the pain will subside then



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">22.09.2022</h2>



the world is going more and more mad



it’s late to say goodbye to the old one



too late for sure







<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-300x150.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-1800x900.jpg 1800w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-2000x1000.jpg 2000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-2400x1200.jpg 2400w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-3000x1500.jpg 3000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-3500x1750.jpg 3500w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fluid-Borders-150x300-sample2-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="1280" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Maria Kapajeva, Fluid Borders, 2023.</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>

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