In transposition ciphers, symbols or text elements are repositioned without any change in their identity. When the Berlin Wall fell, Ilya Kabakov authorized his wife (and co-collaborator) to speak on his behalf. The relocation of Ilya’s public voice to Emilia’s mouth is a fantastic example of that strategy. The Kabakovs make thorough use of this technique in both their art and lives, and this thinly veiled refutation of soviet re-distribution principles serves not only as a socio-political trope, but also as a liminal way of communicating intimately with a community of viewers that spontaneously emerge in relation to their transitory participation in the projects. The Kabakovs create installations for a community of strangers who converge in a strange place, and then inevitably disperse, hopefully to create their own projects.