The emotionally charged performance How long can this all last? Is conceived as a cycle of continuous actions that the artist repeats until her physical strength is exhausted
Daria Kalashnikova decided to use her body as a performance tool when she was looking for a universally understandable language in which to formulate her statements
‘The viewer can see that I'm getting tired, and I'm dispelling the myth that war gets easier the more you experience it - the myth that you can get used to war. Yes, Ukrainians are superhumans (that's the name of the Ukrainian hospital for war injuries), but we are mortal. Understanding that death is very close encourages me to act - to inspire the viewer to remember the value of every day of their life and to feel that they have the power to make a difference.’
At a time when human attention spans are much shorter, durational performance art takes on a new meaning - challenging not only the artist but also the viewer. This portrays a certain similarity that performance art has with war, namely that there are the people who are actually involved in the war (i.e. 'the artist'), and then there are the remote observers ('the viewer') who watch it on TV, social media, etc
‘Today, Ukraine is showing the whole world how to live and fight a war. To watch or not to watch, to learn from our experience or to ignore it - that is the choice of the viewers

But it is worth remembering that if you ignore Ukraine's experience, you may one day have to learn from your own similar experience. I sincerely do not want anyone to have such a personal experience. That is why I suggest the viewer to acquire our unique Ukrainian competence in a few hours. It's easier than experiencing the war
I also see a parallel with the war in the increasing length of the performance. The citizens of Ukraine did not expect the war to last so long. We thought it would be a sprint, but it turned out to be a marathon. Since we do not know when it will end, we just have to keep going, hoping that the finish line will be reached soon. At the same time, we strive to live each day with dignity because we do not know if it will be our last
I understand that during my long performance, people get tired of the monotony - they want to go to the toilet, check notifications on their social networks, make a phone call or go out for a smoke. In general, nothing out of the ordinary - just living their daily lives. But it was this luxury of everyday life that I felt was lacking when I was sitting in a bomb shelter in Ukraine. I want the audience to understand how rich they are. During the performance they can touch the hand of a loved one sitting next to them, and after the performance they can call their relatives and tell them they love them. Perhaps after this experience they will appreciate every minute of their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I also hope that they will stop procrastinating. At least that's what the war did to me.’

Concept

How long can this all last?