Who is responsible for human life during the war? What do we feel when we are face to face with a threat? Who appears to be in the middle of suffering?
90 Seconds is a performance about human vulnerability and a reminder to the world of what war is.

The performance consists of three parts – these are the states of consciousness that a person experiences during the war. In the first part, I lie under the missile, being in the state of the victim. You see the threat and there is nothing you can do about it. This is a state of hopelessness and numbness. Fear paralyses you. In the second part, the missile lies on my shoulders. The threat transforms into a burden. And who are those who carry it? The responsibility for wars falls on the shoulders of the innocent. The third part is the state outside the war. Here, the missile loses its original function and becomes a supporting pillar. I trust and am no longer afraid.

This is the future I want for our world. I want it to be a better place where the greatest values are freedom and human life. Freedom is possible when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and fearless.

The performance takes place near the missile from the Smerch volley fire system in Kyiv. It was brought to the National Military History Museum of Ukraine in 2015 from the zone of war conflict in Donbas. Six months after I performed “90 Seconds” russia started a full-scale war in Ukraine.

Video: Zhanna Babaieva
Photo: Ann Evstigneeva
Suit: MAKI