Acting Out

Acting out is a defensive psychological mechanism that helps to release subconscious tension. It results in behaviours that actualise a frightening scenario by changing one’s role in it from passive victimhood to active initiative.

The works presented in Acting Out are act as a critical commentary on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe associated with the war in Ukraine. Otdelnov’s paintings are an attempt to find signs hidden throughout history, leading to the war we have today.

The exhibition comprises several conceptual elements, starting with Ressentiment which unites paintings themed around the Soviet Union, its failed attempts at monetary reforms and the destruction of its military potential. Otdelnov builds on the notion of ressentiment, an instinctive psychological reaction associated with a sense of hostility and resentment. As such, the works communicate the rootedness of Russia’s recent propaganda in the feeling of injustice at the outcome of the Cold War, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of its “superpower” status.

Meanwhile, Generation directly addresses the artist’s contemporaries: a generation of people who have bravely taken to the streets to protest and demand change, be it to seek fairer elections or to speak out against censorship and war. It is now estimated that over 15,000 people have been detained during the protests this year and over 1 million Russians have left the country in 2022. People whose lives have been radically uprooted are juxtaposed here with representatives of the ruling elites whose power originated in the repressive structures of the late Soviet state.

The exhibition concludes with The Beautiful Afar, an idiomatic phrase in Russian culture which references a fictitious place of idyllic carefree life and prosperity. This section acts as a direct commentary on the sentiment of post-Soviet nostalgia and traditions that continue to coexist alongside the realities of contemporary life in, and sometimes outside of, Russia.

The works presented in Acting Out were created specifically for Pushkin House’s historic premises.