I'm Fine is a 2024 art installation created by Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai and Vitaliy Deynega. The installation was displayed at the Burning Man festival in Nevada, United States. The sculpture, measuring in length and in height, was constructed from war-damaged materials collected from liberated territories in Ukraine, including bullet-riddled street signs, destroyed fences, and damaged satellite dishes.
Background
The installation was created as a collaboration between Oleksiy Sai, Ukrainian media project Ukrainian Witness, and its founder Vitaliy Deynega, alongside Ukrainian DJ Anatoly Tapolsky. The work was developed to communicate the reality of the ongoing war in Ukraine to an international audience at one of the world's most prominent art festivals. The installation's title was inspired by the This Is Fine internet meme, which featured a dog calmly sitting in the middle of a burning room, representing being composed and resilient in a tragedy.
Description
The installation spells out the phrase "I'm Fine" along with a smiley face emoticon. The installation uses authentic war debris collected from various liberated areas of Ukraine. The materials include street signs, solar panels, satellite dishes, city signs, and fencing, all bearing visible damage from bullets and shrapnel. The sculpture measures 32 metres (105 ft) in length, 7 metres (23 ft) in height and weighs approximately 19 tons. The sculpture was assembled on-site by a team of 25 volunteers, many of whom were active military personnel on temporary leave from the Ukrainian front lines in order to participate in the installation.
Exhibition
I'm Fine was displayed at Burning Man 2024, which took place from August 25 to September 2, 2024, in Nevada's Black Rock Desert within the temporary city of Black Rock City. The festival's theme that year was "Curiouser & Curiouser," inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Along with the installation, DJ Anatoly Tapolsky performed a DJ set in front of the sculpture on August 28th. The performance utilized recordings of Ukrainian people's voices answering the question "How are you?".
Reception
The installation attracted significant attention from festival attendees and international media. Observers noted the emotional impact of the work, with many visitors reportedly being moved to tears when encountering the damaged materials.
Project leader Vitaliy Deynega described the public reaction, stating that visitors would "stand and look. Sometimes for a long time. The braver ones touch the sharp edges. Many cry."
Cultural significance
The installation symbolized the destruction in Ukraine caused by the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war and how the Ukrainian people have been resilient during it. Among the materials used in the installation were 12 pedestrian crossing signs. Vitaliy Deynega stated that the signs "represents people killed by Russians at the beginning of the war simply for crossing the road or riding a bicycle on errands." The title "I'm Fine" serves as an ironic statement, representing the war's "normalcy" and how the Ukrainian people experience it on a daily basis.
See also Ukrainian art War art Phoenix (Burning Man installation) Black Cloud (Burning Man installation)
References
External links Ukrainian Witness official website Oleksiy Sai at Voloshyn Gallery