Interview Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova
In 2012, Tolokonnikova was sentenced to two years in prison following Punk Prayer, an explicitly anti-Putin performance, protesting the banning of gay pride and the Orthodox church’s support of the president. She went on a hunger strike to object against savage prison conditions and ended up being sent to a Siberian penal colony, where she managed to maintain her artistic activity. With her prison punk band, she toured around Siberian labor camps.
Born in Norilsk, Siberia, Tolokonnikova has published a book, Read and Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism and co-founded the independent news service and media outlet, Mediazona.
Her protest art NFT, Virgin Mary, Please Become a Feminist and Putin’s Ashes installation – a film showing 12 women torch a 10-foot portrait of Putin – at Jeffrey Deitch’s LA gallery in January 2023 propelled her into a new criminal case and put her on Russia’s most wanted criminal list.
One of her latest works is 50 One Dollar Bills, a series of screen prints and a video broadcast in Piccadilly Square. This collaboration with CIRCA riffs on the tensions between patriarchy and capitalism. Proceeds from the limited-edition release will be shared between Art Riot Fund and #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports free public art and creates life-changing opportunities for the wider community.
Here, Tolokonnikova tells us more about the work, while revealing her proudest moment, what her typical Monday holds, and why she wants to mobilise Gen Z.
THE WICK: Tell us about your typical Monday. Or is there no such thing for you?
Nadya Tolokonnikova:
The day starts with my cat jumping on my head. He’s a bit of a nuisance, just like his mother. I catch up on the news, see if any new criminal cases have been opened on me or my friends, then usually retreat to my studio for the rest of the day.
TW: Pussy Riot has evolved radically since its beginnings in 2011, turning into a global movement. What does being a member of Pussy Riot mean to you today?
NT: Anyone can be Pussy Riot – but with that comes a whole spectrum of participation and dedication. There are activists who fly all over the world to help with actions, or donate their skills and time, take risks even – and there are those that will amplify and share on socials. The only meaning we put on it is to be non-violent, and use art with activism.
TW: You have an interest in prison reform and you’ve visited several prisons in the US. How will this manifest in your work in future?
NT: One of the first places I went after my release [from prison] was to Rikers Island. Being imprisoned in any country is dehumanizing and horrible – the US has a huge problem with this. I’d like to find a way to bring some form of dignity and hope to those who are locked up, using the tools I know, like art and finding things you believe in passionately.
TW: How has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reshaped the way you work?
CR:
In the first few hours of the full scale invasion I cried, frozen. Ukraine has always been a place of refuge and hope for me. I believe this is exactly why putin is so fixated on destroying Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. But I generally don’t like to feel bad for myself for too long, so I took action. Along with some other activists, we created a fundraising platform, and we sold a digital artwork of the Ukraine flag for around $7 million. This all went to organisations in Ukraine within days.
We tried to warn people that putin will only make things worse. I only wish we could’ve done more to stop him, especially now.
“I’d like to find a way to bring some form of dignity and hope to those who are locked up, using the tools I know, like art and finding things you believe in passionately”
