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A major figure in Soviet conceptualism, Ilya Kabakov subtly parodies the rhetoric of those in power. A codified, impersonal text, in the form of a list, outlines an urban planning project, accompanied by an image of an unfinished construction site surrounded by a field of mud. In this landscape, devoid of any human presence and marred by cranes and huts, two real shovels are roughly affixed to the canvas. In contrast to the official art of the time, this work presents itself as an ironic combination of allusive signs.