4х5 KROKAŬ
4x5 steps
The performance took place in Frankfurt (Oder) on August 9th, 2022, the second anniversary of the protests in Belarus.
Once you see a person walking inside a closed rectangular space, what thought comes first into your mind? What feelings arise in you? Confusion? Misunderstanding? Or immediate relation to the situation?
A cell in the Belarusian jail initially designed for 2 people, although shared by 15 of them, an experience of a detained person not being able to leave a space sized 4ⅹ5 steps is something many Belarusians have been going through especially since 2020 due to their active political position and a wish to see changes in their country. Waking up every day to the same furnishing of a bunk bed, a sink, a table with a bench, a nightstand, and a hole in the floor as a toilet is the context being experienced by 1261 political prisoners as you are standing here today. Among them, prominent public figures of the democratic movement, activists, students, cultural workers, and many other groups of citizens can be found. The number of them is constantly changing, sadly becoming only higher. Nevertheless, numerous persons who haven’t gained a status of a political prisoner remain under judicial prosecution due to their disagreement with the existing regime.
Deprived of fresh air and everyday outside walks, nourishing food, bed linen, letters from family members and friends, and last but not least – freedom, these people cannot but lose the public attention, also from abroad, as time goes by. Recollecting the experience of being in a similar space but in the context of a drastically different country, we seek not to forget. About them who are also a part of us, about a free country we love and are willing to live in.
You can find out more about the situation, as well as get information on how to help political prisoners here:
https://spring96.org/en/news/108663
MORE PHOTOS AND DETAILS
The prison cell was recreated from the memory of one of the performance authors.
he performance started in the scorching sun in 30°C heat, with three creators entering three jail cell copies made of gray duct tape.
Overall, they spent three hours in cells, trying to make the experience of imprisoned people visible to a broader public.
After 15 minutes from the beginning, some performance observers decided to participate and entered the cells.
Inside, they could see a plate with candies and a message that asked them to count how many steps it would take them to eat a hard candy.
The usage of this plate is based on the experience of one of the detainees, who, instead of being treated for Covid-19, was put into solitary confinement for 10 days.
One of his daily rituals was walking around the cell, which he made less burdensome by counting steps. A hard candy served as a timer with the help of which he knew how many steps he could take before the caramel melted in his mouth.
ph: sasha kokhan