WHY PEOPLE CAN’T FLY
Presnenskaya embarkment 8, Moscow
From September, 2025, the 10-meter-high sculpture “Why people can’t fly” is permanently on view at "Moscow-City", Moscow, Russia.
“Sometimes art stops you in your tracks and makes you rethink reality.”
You really can’t pass by this sculpture and not stop: the gigantic figure of a man flipped upside-down, who’s trying to float up into the air but can’t because the weight of his problems is dragging him down. And we all live in a new reality—it’s not just this man who’s turned upside-down, it’s the entire world.
“Why People Can’t Fly” was made in 4 versions: 3, 4, 6 and 10- meter-high, each in absolutely different technique.
A 10-meter-high version — was first showcased in public space during the 2019 Venice Biennale. After that, it was sent to the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada.
There’s no need to approach the sculpture to understand the meaning the artist is trying to relay — every person who sees it will have a different perception, and a complete change in the understanding of the usual and the mundane. They will have their own reasons for why the man can’t fly and why he’s upside-down.
“Sometimes art stops you in your tracks and makes you rethink reality.”
You really can’t pass by this sculpture and not stop: the gigantic figure of a man flipped upside-down, who’s trying to float up into the air but can’t because the weight of his problems is dragging him down. And we all live in a new reality—it’s not just this man who’s turned upside-down, it’s the entire world.
“Why People Can’t Fly” was made in 4 versions: 3, 4, 6 and 10- meter-high, each in absolutely different technique.
A 10-meter-high version — was first showcased in public space during the 2019 Venice Biennale. After that, it was sent to the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada.
There’s no need to approach the sculpture to understand the meaning the artist is trying to relay — every person who sees it will have a different perception, and a complete change in the understanding of the usual and the mundane. They will have their own reasons for why the man can’t fly and why he’s upside-down.
From September, 2025