New Lower Mainland ‘Pussy Riot’ exhibition takes attendees into repressive Putin regime
Posted March 23, 2024 7:14 pm.
A new exhibit in North Vancouver takes a look at Pussy Riot — an infamous Russian performance art collective — and its battle against the repressive regime of President Vladimir Putin.
“Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia” offers a rich account of the group’s non-violent actions as well as the reactions of Russian authorities, according to Reid Shier, director of the Polygon Gallery.
“What the exhibition really does is show over a decade of performance actions that were done in very specific circumstances — largely in Moscow, but not exclusively — in opposition to what was and what continues to be a growing totalitarian government,” Shier said.
“So they are completely unique and very specific to the context of the country they come out of.”
Shier calls the exhibit “loud,” “colourful,” and “riotous.”
“There’s over 50 videos — often videos that were taken with cell phones, you know, on the street in Moscow and around Russia during the actions — and over 400 photographs, and it’s designed as a very punk exhibition,” he told CityNews.
“So it is very cacophonous.”
Shier says he describes Pussy Riot using a number of different labels.
“[One of the labels is that they are] a punk feminist rock band, which they’re not, I mean, they are at times but they’re much, much more,” he said.
“Some of my own biases about the group were kind of at play before I went and saw the exhibition. I knew them from a few of their performances, some of the provocations they had done, but not really that much about them.They were more well known for their name than what they had accomplished.”
“Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia” is on now through June 2 at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver.
