Nadya Tolokonnikova (PUSSY RIOT)
POLICE STATE

In POLICE STATE, Nadya Tolokonnikova (b. 1989 Norilsk, Russia) explores the omnipresent mechanisms of control, surveillance, and the alienation of living under systems of power that seek to dominate the body, mind, and spirit. The work transforms WAREHOUSE into a visceral representation of a panopticon—a space where the watcher and the watched exist in a perpetual dance of oppression, resistance, and exposure.

This durational performance takes the form of a confined cell —a symbolic nucleus of human resilience to the state power. Inside, Tolokonnikova performs a spectrum of soundscapes, from eerie, haunted lullabies to bursts of harsh noise. The cell becomes both a prison and a sanctuary, a space where despair meets defiance, and silence gives way to the radical act of creation. While POLICE STATE confronts the brutality of control, it also insists on the possibility of catharsis and connection. The cell becomes a paradox: a site of confinement and liberation, despair and creativity. Through this interplay,Tolokonnikova invites the audience to grapple with the mechanisms of oppression while seeking the sparks of hope that resist it.

Conceptual performance artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of Pussy Riot, a global feminist art movement. She was sentenced in 2012 to 2 years' imprisonment following an anti-Putin performance Punk Prayer. Punk Prayer was named by The Guardian among the best art pieces of the 21st century.

Tolokonnikova's Putin’s Ashes art installation at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in January 2023 propelled her into a new criminal case and put on Russia’s most wanted criminal list. On June 21st, her debut museum exhibition RAGE, opened at OK Linz, Linz, Austria, and the eponymous performance piece performed at the Neue Nationalgalerie on July 4.

Tolokonnikova's work is in the collections of The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, The Brooklyn Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum of Art and Design, American Folk Art Museum, Taschen, and Beth Rudin DeWoody, among others.

Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs is organized by Alex Sloane, Associate Curator, and is produced by Amelia Charter, Producer of Performance and Programs with Michele Huizar, Performance Coordinator, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.

Wonmi's WAREHOUSE Programs is founded by Wonmi & Kihong Kwon and Family.

Performances at MOCA are supported by the MOCA Fund for Performance with generous funding provided by Betsy Greenberg and The Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund.