The PLOT group was founded on the basis of the Museum of Odesa Modern Art. It brought together Odesa actors and artists, musicians and dancers to create actions and performances. Since then, they present a special unique performance or action for almost every important project and event of the museum. The group also presented dozens of actions in Odesa and other cities of Ukraine. Usually, the concepts of these actions have a deep philosophical and socio-political meaning. An example of this is the “Escape” action.

2020. Odesa. Sunny August day. The courtyard of the museum. Six people, dressed in black clothes and holding black umbrellas, stand near the counters. On each counter there is a fur pad on which a large piece of ice lies. The participants of the performance collected water from the places where they were born or spent a significant part of their lives – these are different corners of Ukraine. This water from every place has been turned into large pieces of ice. The participants watched the process of ice from different parts of the country slowly melting under the Odesa sun and turning into one and the same water.

This symbolic gesture connected different regions of the country into a single stream, where every drop is an echo of individual stories and regional identities transformed into collective experience. The sound of drops falling on a special metal plate, amplified and processed in real time, created the noise accompaniment of this transformation. The action lasted more than three hours. But the audience, who gathered in the courtyard of the museum, did not disperse. Everyone was eager to support the participants, who had to stand almost motionless in the hot sun. Everyone understood what serious issues the artists raised. Specifics of the history, traditions and culture of different regions give way to the understanding of the closeness and common goals of the people of Ukraine.

In addition to the social aspect of the action, its general cultural ideas should be noted. Black suits and umbrellas emphasized the contrast between human warmth and natural cold. The participants of the action witnessed a process of radical transformation that was happening beyond their control. The ice that melted on the fur lining symbolized the coldness and inexorability of time and the irreversibility of changes.