Ilya Kabakov, ex-Soviet conceptual artist, dies aged 89

Ukrainian-born artist who turned whimsical albums into installations moved to US in 1980s with wife and collaborator, Emilia

Ilya Kabakov, a Ukrainian-born conceptual artist considered to be one of the most influential of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 89.

Kabakov created dozens of whimsical albums with imaginary, often impossible stories set in the drab but re-stylised surroundings of his Soviet past. He later transformed them into installations, including one about a man who slingshots himself through the roof of his communal flat in order to reach the moon.