Russian artist Rustam QBic conjures fantastical murals fit for a storybook world. The lands depicted across his body of work transcend the laws of mortal reality. Here, blooming flowers, shells, trees and seas call the shots. However, the artist’s recent work, a mural diptych titled “Voinushka,” dabbles in an area of his fantasy land which lies closer to the border, beyond which true reality takes shape. In lieu of explanation for these massive, enveloping murals’ inspiration, QBIC simply states, “Some games should remain just games.”
In an academic piece of writing titled “Putin’s performance of masculinity: the action hero and macho sex-object,” Helena Goscilo cites a computer game released in 2011 called Voinushka, “translated as Shoot ‘em up.” Goscilo writes that “The game stars a youthful, khaki-clad, gun-toting Putin and his button-poppingly busty red-haired aide in a Soviet army fur hat.” The game serves to bolster Putin’s public persona as a skilled marksmen and overwhelming heartthrob.
Without the artist’s direct comment, it’s impossible to know whether QBic intended to reference this cultural phenomenon directly, or something larger. The scene he’s painted in “Voinushka” hearkens more to Lord of the Flies than a violent, propaganda enhancing computer game. Occupying two separate, entire facades, the diptych shows a ragtag crew of school boys playing their own version of “shoot ‘em up” in the wilds of their neighborhood. Their faces are each intently focused on the purported conflict at hand. All six of the boys brandish tree branches like guns, and one even takes aim through the faux scope of a metal tube. Their faces are defiant, focused, eager to claim victory. That the artist explains this mural was painted for a “Memorandum project organised by Supernovanet in Neftekamsk, Baskortostan, Russia. Schools #16 & 2,” further supports the notion that he sought to explore some deeper notion inherent to childhood.
Educating children in the science of a well-rounded life must be an incredibly intensive job. I’d imagine it requires a balance between realism and idealism; life requires a measure of aggression in order to accomplish, but it is simultaneously important to foster compassion and gentleness so society can continue striving towards a more just world. Discussions of this variety have become especially pertinent during this period where the world contemplates what it means to effectively police. As an existent force, power will never be eradicated from this world. True hope lies in prioritizing the ability to wield it ethically, for the greater good.
“Voishnuka” bears an aesthetic similarity to its artist’s many fantasy landscapes. The foliage is idyllic, the detritus scattered about the lot these boys are playing in lends the scene a certain theatricality. Still, the actual facts of the painting prove it could easily exist in any neighborhood, introducing an interesting bit of realism into QBic’s work. The true make believe land exists in the boys’ minds as they are enraptured by their game. Through games like this, children can explore themselves, learning how they interact with others and how they handle stress, conflict. “Some games should remain just games,” though. Rather than resorting to the hollow violence of a computer game by the same name, “Voishnuka” focuses on the place where meaningful lessons are planted, in the hopes they’re translated into emotional development, and eventually new methods of resolution.
