Seeing, Hearing, Touching the war in Ukraine: The 'I’m Fine' Installation at Burning Man 2024 Sounds the Air Raid Siren and DJ Set
Today, near the Ukrainian sculpture I'm Fine at Burning Man, DJ Anatoliy Tapolsky played a DJ set with the voices of relatives and friends of the military. This was reported by the founder of the Ukrainian Witness media project Vitaliy Deynega.
The I'm Fine installation can be seen and touched. Many people looked at every hole in the installation's surface and touched its sharp edges, trying to understand what it means to live in a country at war.
‘We really wanted the work to hit all sensory systems simultaneously. So that it could also be heard. That's why we attached a howler synchronised with the Kyiv alarms. But this was not enough. So we decided that the sculpture should talk to us all and tell a story. And here we were very lucky, because Anatoliy Tapolsky and the Cultural Troop decided to join the team,’ said Vitaliy Deynega.
He added that Anatoliy Tapolsky is not just a DJ. He is also a soldier. A real one, with injuries and contusions, with whom he has many mutual friends and who inspires boundless respect.
‘This set has a lot of voice inserts. These are answers to questions from Anatoliy's friends, family and comrades-in-arms: How are you? What are your dreams? The first voice you will hear is his mother,’ adds Vitaliy Deynega.
The ironic It's Fine meme inspired a team of like-minded people to create this installation, which reflects the duality of Ukrainian life. The things that have become part of everyday life during the war, and at the same time the determination to maintain strength and dignity. At some point in our lives, we all try to hide our true feelings so as not to burden others or appear stronger than we really are. This meme allows us to laugh at ourselves and the difficult situations we find ourselves in and move on, to be brave and be heard. With the help of the installation, the organisers tell the story of what I'm Fine means to Ukraine today during the war.
The installation is 32 metres long, 7 metres high and weighs over 10 tonnes. This year's installation is based on war artefacts collected in the de-occupied territories. It consists of various elements. Most of them are shot and torn by fragments of pedestrian crossing signs. There are twelve of them in total. These are about people killed by Russians at the beginning of the war simply for crossing the road or cycling on business. There are two signs that say ‘children, be careful’. One of them was taken near a school completely destroyed by the Russians in Kherson region.