Oleksandr Roitburd is a well-known Ukrainian artist and curator. He was born in 1961 in Odesa. One of the leaders of the Ukrainian trans-avant-garde. Author of interesting series of paintings on various social, historical, religious and general cultural topics. He is also known as the author of video art. His work “The Psychedelic Invasion of the Battleship Potemkin into the Tautological Hallucinosis of Sergei Eisenstein” is presented in the collections of prestigious museums of the world. Oleksandr is the ideologist of formation and the head of many new art institutions. He always led an active social life, had a prominent patriotic attitude. At the end of his life, he became a deputy of the Odesa Regional Council and was elected as a director of the Odesa National Fine Arts Museum. In a short time, he managed to turn the museum into a contemporary art institution.

The video “Portrait of Eduard Hurwitz”, created by Oleksandr Roitbyrd, was dedicated to the former mayor of Odesa, Eduard Hurwitz. On the screen there is a self-confident middle-aged man, dressed in a formal suit, clean-shaven, short hairstyle with gray hair. There is no doubt that this is a “real leader”. He says impatiently to his silent entourage: “Well, what. There is nothing else to see here. No more questions? It is necessary to go to the executive committee. Yes? We will discuss all there.”

The artist has divided this phrase into its constituent clauses and repeated each several times, changing their sequence. This technique creates a “tautologous stuttering” that is central to many of Roitbird’s videos. The phrase, which is repeated and changed in this way, turns into farce and grotesque. Tautological repetition reveals not so much the content of the sentence as its absence, which emphasizes the absurdity of the situation.

The work was created in the context of an intense pre-election struggle in Odesa during the mayoral elections. It should be noted that Roitburd was a supporter of Hurwitz, but considered it right to point out his mistakes.

The work is an uncompromising satire on narcissistic leaders, a demonstration of their emptiness and senselessness of such political “discourse”. The central image becomes a symbol of such leaders – a figure in formal clothes with a mask on his face, symbolizing insincerity and arrogance. The author expertly exposes absurdity and alienation of such persons from reality, making you think about a true meaning of leadership and a need to find new politicians.