Inside Pussy Riot: What’s It Like With No Free Speech in the Saatchi Gallery
The story of Pussy Riot is known by almost everyone. In 2012, the all-female Russian band made the fatal mistake of performing a post-punk song inside a Moscow cathedral – publicly venting their hate to the Russian political system. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years in jail for 40 seconds of their opinions. And in the Saatchi Gallery, you can see what it was like back then.
The Inside Pussy Riot exhibit is special. The number of persons in a tour is always limited to at most 16 persons, which will then experience what the protesting girls experienced in 2012.
From a luxurious cathedral to a damp cell
The story begins in an artistically depicted cathedral, where you stand face to face against icons representing Trump, Farage and Putin. You protest and are arrested.
After an interrogation, you are sentenced to 21 minutes in a criminal colony. You find yourself is a dark environment and need to wear a prison uniform. You receive an ID number and fulfill nonsensical tasks such as cleaning coins or counting needles. Afterwards they lock you in a dark cell, alone.
And during that you will hear voices and recordings, the story of the brutality that members of Pussy Riot had to endure.
Stand by your opinions and don’t let anyone take them!
This “game” cannot make you feel what true tyranny is like, and the same also goes for truly harsh and brutal handling. However, you can at least peek in and get an impression of the darkness of any regime which forbids free speech.
“Many individuals help change the world through collective acts,” says Anya Tolokonnikova.
This is her message to us, a message which asks us not to be afraid to stand up for what we believe in. If you are planning to visit London by 24 December and get bored of the Christmas atmosphere, visit the Saatchi Gallery, where you certainly won’t find a jolly Santa Claus!
