Nino Dava, “Leti — ლეთი”, performance

The project “Leti - ლეთი” explores the linguistic dynamics of Svan, a language spoken in Svaneti, a region in western Georgia, Caucasus. During the Russian imperial rule, Svan culture was often alienated, estranged and often used in Georgian anecdotes as a mountainous “frozen in time” culture. However, Svanetian ethnographical resistance has always been an example in Georgia, and the Svan language represents its widest dimension. By breaking down Svan folk poetry and tales into rhythmic phrases, “Leti” aims to clarify how the ancient Svan language can function in software algorithms triggered during the reading of the poetry itself. The rhythmic impulses are further developed and merged with heavy industrial noise or Svan scales, recreating itself in new audio form.