A Buddy in Ukraine

In Konstantin's second and latest project for YouTube, he pushes the limits of the traditional "workout" vid, eschewing the usual neorealism of shrugs, curls, and extensions (that is to say, an actual workout) to focus instead on the spiritual question of existence.

Keeping his winsomely expressive omphalos as the central and therefore dominant aspect of the frame, he reminds viewers that eternal essence inheres to the transient instant.

His staggered exhalations ("grunting huffs" I might call them) refer us to the possibility, even the promise of jouissance in physical motion and skin-to-skin contact.

The "V" hand sign at the end, referencing not "victory" or "peace" or "'zup," but rather the vaginal nurture and healing power of the earth, is in obvious contrast to the sky-god phallos signified in his smooth, stripped-bare torso so magnified and yet so clearly objectified in the early moments of the work.

Konstantin subverts idealization, affirming the negative capability of the artist to accept the metaphysical hegemony of the "now" over mere language and reason ("logos").

It is a profound and indeed thrilling performance.