Ivan Zhaba: Russian Superman

Alexander Shaburov created a major exhibition dedicated to a superhero named "Ivan Zhaba" (or Ivan the Toad), staging it at the Beloyar Atomic Electro station in June 1995. The exhibition simultaneously parodied and referenced western media (for instance, the funeral of Ivan Zhaba was in the show as a tank with a coffin containing several live tortoises: the Ninja Turtles paying their respects). It also parodied the active soul-searching for a national identity in the wake of the Perestroika that often came up in 90s media through its hagiographic account of a Russian superhero, equally composed of Russian fairy-tale tropes, pop-culture references, and tongue-in-cheek parody. Visitors to the exhibit were treated to evidence of Ivan the Toad's superpowers such as a glass cut in half by the power of his mind, and could see Ivan himself flying over the audience in three sculptural appearances--emerging from the wall, flying above, and then disappearing back into the wall on the other side of the exhibit.