Few groups are as easily recognizable as Pussy Riot. Clad in vibrant balaclavas, the Russian punk band and activist group has made a name for itself as an unflinching detractor of their country’s authoritarian state as well as fascism at large globally. With over a decade of feminist artistry and rebellion, it seems more than time for a retrospective on their stalwart work. And that is just what we’ll receive with the upcoming exhibition Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia.
Hosted by The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver, Velvet Terrorism is the first of its kind for the art collective. It collects documentation of their activism from 2011 onwards and is set to display a dichotomy of the group’s actions against a backdrop of Russian officials’ reactions. The name for the exhibition itself comes from such a source—a quote from Putin’s spiritual advisor Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov referring to the actions of the feminist collective as “velvet terrorism.”
“Through videos, photographs, testimonies, song lyrics, and reflections,” explains The Polygon’s statement, “the exhibition offers a rich account of Pussy Riot’s non-violent actions, alongside the reactions of the Russian authorities to their provocations. In illustrating an increasingly hostile relationship between the group and the state authorities, the exhibition provides key insights into the evolution of Putin’s Russia over the past ten years, leading up to the military invasion of Ukraine.”
Velvet Terrorism is collected by group member Maria Alyokhina, one of the individuals who was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for their protest against Putin’s reelection. Having described her time in the group and her punishment through her novel Riot Days, she is giving resonant insight into one of the most notable activist and musical groups this century.
Velvet Terrorism opens March 22nd at The Polygon Gallery.
