Childhood Dreams and Philosopher

“What I do in abstract works always contains hidden humanity. Abstract shapes represent the inner person, while the figurative represents the outer,” Yankilevsky often emphasised. Both the dreamily childlike boy and the philosopher gazing from between his legs are small figures set against a backdrop of a cosmic system of symbols designed to convey their inner lives. At first glance, one might assume the boy’s role is to perform tricks and the philosopher’s is to dream, but upon closer examination of the abstract surfaces in each work, it becomes difficult to imagine their roles being reversed. The artist is likely correct: the external and the apparent find their place when the internal is made visible.