Original artwork description:

FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Due to the war, russia started against my country, the international delivery can take about two to three weeks.

About the artwork

This contemporary sculpture reclaims a Soviet‑era porcelain bust of a youthful Lenin by overlaying its austere iconography with a constellation of bright, playful polka dots. Each circle—hand‑painted in vivid hues—both disrupts the original propaganda and invites viewers to reconsider the power of symbols.

For Ukrainians like myself, Lenin stands as the architect of our first modern occupation (1917–1921) and the progenitor of seven decades of Soviet domination. Though the USSR dissolved in 1991, its specter endures: today’s Kremlin seeks once again to extinguish Ukraine’s hard‑won independence and draw us back into a deadly embrace.

By “sticker‑bombing” Lenin’s visage, I transform historical trauma into an act of creative defiance. The polka dots serve as camouflage and healing bandages alike—obscuring the dictator’s stare while highlighting the wounds of collective memory. In this playful defacement, I claim agency over a past that once felt immutable, demonstrating that even the most entrenched evil can be rendered powerless through art.

Yet this work carries a warning: humor can disarm, but vigilance must endure. True freedom demands that we remain alert, lest the ghosts of tyranny re‑emerge. Through this sculpture, I celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and affirm art’s capacity to heal, to provoke, and ultimately, to safeguard our liberty.

PLEASE NOTE: The buyer will be responsible for paying international customs fees, determined by the country the artwork is being shipped to. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to making a purchase.

Materials used:

Oil on the Found Porcelain Bust

Tags:
#boy #kitsch #history #spots #bust #communism #dictator #lenin #ussr #soviet union #sotsart #metamodernism 

Recycled Young Lenin #1 (2025) Mixed-media sculpture
by Oleksandr Balbyshev

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Original artwork description
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FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Due to the war, russia started against my country, the international delivery can take about two to three weeks.

About the artwork

This contemporary sculpture reclaims a Soviet‑era porcelain bust of a youthful Lenin by overlaying its austere iconography with a constellation of bright, playful polka dots. Each circle—hand‑painted in vivid hues—both disrupts the original propaganda and invites viewers to reconsider the power of symbols.

For Ukrainians like myself, Lenin stands as the architect of our first modern occupation (1917–1921) and the progenitor of seven decades of Soviet domination. Though the USSR dissolved in 1991, its specter endures: today’s Kremlin seeks once again to extinguish Ukraine’s hard‑won independence and draw us back into a deadly embrace.

By “sticker‑bombing” Lenin’s visage, I transform historical trauma into an act of creative defiance. The polka dots serve as camouflage and healing bandages alike—obscuring the dictator’s stare while highlighting the wounds of collective memory. In this playful defacement, I claim agency over a past that once felt immutable, demonstrating that even the most entrenched evil can be rendered powerless through art.

Yet this work carries a warning: humor can disarm, but vigilance must endure. True freedom demands that we remain alert, lest the ghosts of tyranny re‑emerge. Through this sculpture, I celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and affirm art’s capacity to heal, to provoke, and ultimately, to safeguard our liberty.

PLEASE NOTE: The buyer will be responsible for paying international customs fees, determined by the country the artwork is being shipped to. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to making a purchase.

Materials used:

Oil on the Found Porcelain Bust

Tags:
#boy #kitsch #history #spots #bust #communism #dictator #lenin #ussr #soviet union #sotsart #metamodernism 
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Oleksandr Balbyshev

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Location Ukraine

About
Oleksandr Balbyshev was born in 1985 in Ukraine, one of the biggest Soviet Republics. After graduating from The Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture in 2012, he was... Read more

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