Prior to creating the installations for which Kabakov is known worldwide
Kabakov created fictional albums
He has created a total of 50
Each album is a story about one character who is often able to overcome the banality of everyday existence, or of a small man, possessed by big ideas
The first ten albums is a series called Ten Characters (1972–75)
In the story of the Ten Characters
a man, attempting to write his autobiography, realizes that nothing much ever happened to him, and most of his life amounted to impressions of people, places, and objects