Inside Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, a replica Russian prison cell sits in the Edlis Neeson Theater with Nadya Tolokonnikova inside. Best known for founding the Russian punk rock performance art and protest group Pussy Riot, Tolokonnikova sits inside the cell sewing garments as visitors peek inside through small slots, giving them a small grim glimpse of what Russian prison life was like as part of her performance art installation Police State.
Running from November 25 to 30th, Police State is a reenactment of Tolokonnikova’s imprisonment by the Russian government on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” from 2012 to 2013 following an anti-Putin protest titled Punk Prayer in Moscow’s main cathedral.
“Transforming the Edlis Neeson Theater into a claustrophobic cell monitored in constant, all-seeing surveillance, the space becomes both a prison and a sanctuary, where despair instead gives way to radical acts of creation… A paradox of confinement and self-determination, POLICE STATE confronts the brutality of unrelenting control while insisting on the possibility of connection and liberatory release despite it.”
Stepping inside the exhibit you are immediately met with a dark and unsettling presence, eerie soundscapes, and the hush of visitors whispering to each other. On the floor a television sits with a live feed of Tolokonnikova from the cameras in her cell. Long banners sway back and forth from the ceiling next to a lighted guard tower with Pussy Riot’s “Police State” song lyrics displayed, “OH MY GOD I’M SO HAPPY I COULD DIE,” “BIG SMILE FOR THE CAMERA IT’S ALWAYS ON,” and “NO PROBLEMS IN PARADISE WE’LL LOCK THEM UP” in large letters. What is most noticeable, however, is the red neon glow of a symbol above the exhibit created by Tolokonnikova that resembles a Russian Orthodox Cross.
Inside the cell itself are walls lined with chipped blue paint and artwork sent to Tolokonnikova by current and formerly incarcerated Russian, Belarusian, and American political prisoners, a bed, toilet, and desk with a sewing machine.
According to Amnesty International UK, the working conditions where Tolokonnikova was being held at a Mordovian penal colony were illegal under Russia’s labor code.
“I didn’t survive to be polite” can be seen etched into the wall above her desk.
The performance piece was previously featured in Los Angeles last June, but a few days in police started closing streets down near MOCA as Donald Trump had ordered national guard troops into the area with protests against the immigration raids nearby. The museum closed out of caution, but Tolokonnikova continued her performance while live streaming audio from the protests outside into her exhibit.
“Police State Exhibit Closed Today Due to the Police State,” she posted on Instagram.
A book documenting this time during the performance is available for pre-order.
Fast forward to today, during the performance of Police State in Chicago, Russia’s justice ministry is seeking to have Pussy Riot designated as an extremist organization and banning their activities in Russia. A hearing is set for December 15th at Moscow’s Tverskoy Court.
“Singing in the streets is not extremism. Doing street actions is not extremism. Extremism is invading other countries and committing war crimes. Being anti-fascist and wearing a Pikachu costume… is not extremism.
Pussy Riot have always stood – and will continue to stand – with Saint Nikolai, who wasn’t afraid to throw a piece of raw meat at the feet of Ivan the Terrible himself, calling him out: ‘You eat human flesh and blood.’
And if telling the truth is ‘extreme,’ then hold my Red Bull.”
