Attention, mortals! It’s me, Dirty White.
Wipe your watery eyes and go vote!
Your future is in your hands!
Choose now: a horrible end or an endless horror.
We present Alina Kleytman’s solo exhibition A Horrible End or an Endless Horror? The works in the show are part of the long-running series Endless Shine of Human Violence, which the artist began on 24 February 2022. It was at this time that the character of Dirty White also emerged—a propagandist of the world’s most fascinating entertainment for all humankind: endless wars and boundless violence.
The exhibition presents a bizarre space where a viewer is immersed in the everyday life of Dirty White, steeped in a thirst for human suffering. Moving through the gallery, visitors encounter his “attributes of luxury”, such as the crowns of a heartless Snow Queen, growing in their pursuit of perpetual domination, and jewelry crafted from exhausted human nerves. Created from the fragments of destroyed lives—bombed-out windows of cultural centres, medical plastic, and earth—these objects have become memory capsules, providing physical and indisputable evidence of the cost of feudal ambitions.
In the accompanying video, Dirty White offers its interpretation of a must-see place before you die: Victim & Fool Resort. Here, guests are promised an unforgettable experience— comfortable accommodation in a spacious room flooded with daylight, strolls through a blooming garden, exquisite cuisine crafted by the world’s finest chefs, and rejuvenation in an invigorating spa.
“Alina Kleytman is not afraid to work with the disgusting. Her sculptures, videos, installations, and photographs can easily repulse a viewer— whether it’s the overly visceral nature of the imagery, the artist’s bold performances, or the materials she uses, such as fur, wax, glass from buildings shattered by russian missiles, or deceptively shiny black body bags for russian soldiers. Yet, the provocative edge of her work is tempered by the fragility of the form or of Alina’s own body, which often takes centre stage in her films and photographs. In the early 2010s, this was Super A (Super Alina), who played with gender roles. Since 2019, it has been the Old Fat Girl, unapologetically presenting herself to the world with her eating disorders and her large body. After 2022, a new gender-neutral character emerged: Dirty White, embodying the senseless violence and despair of the world we live in today. Dirty White is the central figure of Alina’s first solo exhibition in Kyiv in years, drawing the viewer towards the defining question of our time: the red pill or the blue one, a horrible end or an endless horror?” comment Maria Lanko and Lizaveta German.
Step into this modern anti-fairy-tale world of glass, velvet, and exposed, numbed nerves, where humanity gives way to endless violence—scaled down just enough to be comprehended.
Supported by the Vidnova Placement programme.
