Khayat presented "Motif" — "Triptych" as a musical testimony to the war
The first single "Motiv" from the mini-album "Triptych" is already on streaming platforms; the video was filmed with the support of the National Museum — why this project is important for cultural memory during the war.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
March 2, 2026 · 2 min read
Khayat — "Motif" and "Triptych": music as testimony
Ukrainian performer Khayat has presented the first single "Motif" from the new mini‑album "Triptych". The release is already available on streaming platforms, and the official video has been published on YouTube, — reports UNN. The importance of the project lies not only in the music but in its attempt to shape the experience of war into an intelligible form.
"Triptych" consists of three songs about the war, each a separate point of emotional experience: from the silence after an explosion to the despair of loss and tense waiting. The artist himself describes the album as a closed cycle that leads from reaction to awareness and then — to moving forward.
"Each of the three songs is a separate point of experience, but together they form a closed cycle: from the first reaction to awareness and then — to moving forward. This is precisely what gives the album its title 'Triptych' — three parts of a single image that make sense only together"
— Khayat, performer
The visuals for the compositions "Motif", "Au" and "Hertsy" were created with the support of the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine. Filming took place on the grounds of the Voskresenska Church, the Mykolaiv Church of 1763 (the Garrison Church of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) and at the Film.UA studio, which gave the videos a cinematic presentation. The museum’s institutional support reinforces the cultural and historical context of the project: this is not only an artistic gesture but a document of its time.
The musical and visual accompaniment make "Triptych" an example of how creators document the psychological front. Music critics note that similar projects help society make sense of trauma and form a shared memory without simplifications or pathos.
Now the question to the public and cultural institutions: can "Triptych" become part of a broader discourse about the war — as an artistic witness and a tool for collective processing of experience?
