Peering Through Barred Windows: Pussy Riot Activist Relives Prison Ordeal in US Art Exhibit
Activist from Pussy Riot Group Re-Visits Rebuilt Prison Cell Inside American Museum
Step into a chilling reenactment of authoritarian oppression at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles. For two weeks, Pussy Riot founder Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 35, will be living and breathing the tumult of a Russian prison cell, threading clothes, eating, and using the restroom, similar to her 2-year imprisonment in a labor camp following Kremlin-critical activities with Pussy Riot.
During gallery hours, museum visitors can witness Tolokonnikova's harrowing journey through surveillance cameras and viewing windows. As the artist grapples with the growing threat of surveillance through technology, she strives to sound the alarms on the emergence of "police states" worldwide.
"I've lived under an authoritarian system for over 25 years. I know how it starts," Tolokonnikova told AFP. At first, it appears that only a single individual is targeted, but suddenly, "the whole country is under the iron fist of the military."
The return of former U.S. President Donald Trump to office in January, according to Tolokonnikova, signals a menacing "erosion of power checks and balances." Through her avant-garde performance, she urges society to actively combat the misuse of power. "We all must act; no one else will come to save us," she asserted. The exhibition runs until June 14.
Pussy Riot gained public fame in 2012 for a daring protest action in Moscow's religious landmark, the Christ the Savior Cathedral. In the cathedral, the band performed a "punk prayer" criticizing the Kremlin, leading to several members receiving prison sentences. Today, the band resides in exile.
[1] Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, 1977.[2] Bentham, Jeremy. Panopticism. Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 10, no. 3, 1993, pp. 35-55.[3] Tolokonnikova, Nadya. AND ZHERDEVA, Masha. “Open Letter From Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova to Vladimir Putin.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 July 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/opinion/a-letter-from-pussy-riots-nadya-tolokonnikova-to-vladimir-putin.html.[4] Pussy Riot. “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (2013).” IFC Films, IFC Films, 2013, www.ifcfilms.com/films/pussy-riot-a-punk-prayer.
Through the window of the US museum, the pussy-riot activist, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, recreates her prison cell ordeal, highlighting politics and human rights issues within her lifestyle and general-news worthy performance. As Tolokonnikova's avant-garde exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) exposes the growing threat of surveillance in society, it mirrors the themes discussed in Michel Foucault's "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" and Jeremy Bentham's "Panopticism."
