Ivan Zhaba: Russian Superman

Alexander Shaburov created a major exhibition dedicated to a superhero named “Ivan Zhaba” (meaning “Ivan the Toad”), staging it at the Beloyar Atomic Electrostation in June 1995. The exhibition parodically invoked Western media—for instance, the funeral of Ivan Zhaba was depicted in the show as a tank with a coffin containing several live tortoises: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paying their respects. At the same time, Ivan Zhaba sent up the intense soul-searching for national identity in the wake of perestroika and Soviet collapse—specifically, through its hagiographic account of a Russian superhero comprised of equal parts 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, including a drinking glass cut in half through the power of his mind. They could also see Ivan himself flying above the audience in three sculptural appearances—emerging from the wall, flying overhead, and ultimately disappearing back into the wall on the other side of the exhibit.