If shock factor was an art form, surely, Pussy Riot‘s Nadya Tolokonnikova has achieved the rank of master. Formed in Moscow over a decade ago, the Feminist punk rock band has regularly staged anti-government protests, including a crypto organization to raise funds for Ukraine, along with a recent performance where the group burned a portrait of Russian president Vladimir Putin, which went on view at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles last month.
To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, Tolokonnikova will screen a new digital billboard entitled Nadya Means Hope. Broadcasting on London’s Piccadilly Lights, the short video showcases the Pussy Riot co-founder in her signature white balaclava as she lights an eggplant emoji candle-sculpture ablaze. The work was influenced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 — denying women the right to an abortion, which prompted many artists such as Tolokonnikova to question the global patriarchy around the world.
