Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of the Russian performance art group Pussy Riot, who has since continued her work as an artist and activist by exhibiting in galleries and art fairs, is coming to Dallas. Dallas Contemporary (DC), a non-collecting contemporary art space, has announced an upcoming presentation of Ms. Tolokonnikova’s short film, Putin’s Ashes. The work will be on view at DC from December 8, 2023 through January 8, 2024, and will be accompanied by several public events.
There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Friday, December 8 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with complimentary drinks for attendees age 21 and over. DC requests opening reception attendees RSVP via Eventbrite. Then, on December 9, DC will host a live conversation between Ms. Tolokonnikova and Will Evans of Deep Vellum Books at 3 p.m. More details on that event are forthcoming, but those interested might check DC’s website for details.
Nadya Tolokonnikova, “Nadya Tolokonnikova: Putin’s Ashes,” film still. Image courtesy the artist.
Putin’s Ashes, as described by a press release from DC:
is the culmination of a performance that took place in August 2022 when Pussy Riot burned a giant portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the performance, twelve women, mostly Ukrainian, Belarusian, or Russian, cast spells aimed at chasing Putin away from leadership. Participating women were required to experience ‘acute hatred and resentment toward the Russian President.’
The political statement of the piece is in line with Pussy Riot’s earlier works and messaging. The group garnered international attention in 2012 when Ms. Tolokonnikova and fellow members Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were sentenced to two years in prison as a response to a performance piece in Moscow. The arrests and convictions were widely condemned in the international community as human rights violations. Now, as stated in the press release from DC, Putin’s Ashes has “landed Tolokonnikova on Putin’s most wanted list and instigated an arrest warrant under the Russian ‘Pussy Riot Law,’ a bill imposing jail terms and fines for insulting people’s religious feelings.” According to Tolokonniva, “Putin’s Ashes reveals the vulnerability of seemingly unbreakable power structures.” She calls it a piece “rooted in magical activist thinking.”
DC Executive Director Carolina Alvarez-Mathies expressed her excitement for the upcoming presentation, calling Ms. Tolokonnikova “an artist whose voice is dually one of hope and defiance.” “In Texas,” said Alvarez-Mathies, “during a time when personal freedom is under attack, Nadya’s commitment and resilience is a reminder that art can indeed change the course of history.”
This isn’t the first time that members of Pussy Riot have made an appearance in Texas. Last year, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the group hung a banner that read “matriarchy now” from the rotunda of the Texas State Capitol building. Also, Tolokonnikova spoke during and the group performed for the Day for Night festival in Houston in 2017; other members spoke as part of the Sound on Sound festival in Austin in 2016. More recently, a segment of the group has been on tour across the U.S. with their performance Riot Days, which is based on a memoir by Ms. Alyokhina. This show included recent stops in a few Texas cities.
For more on Ms. Tolokonnikova’s recent life and work, including details on the “Pussy Riot Law” currently preventing her from returning to her home country, DC suggests this article by Hyperallergic.
