Nadya Tolokonnikova. Photo by Santiago Imkorpo Pagnotta courtesy of Pussy Riot.
WHEN:
May 9 - June 28, 2025
WHERE:
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
152 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
TICKETS:
For more information and tickets visit the MOCA website.
Pussy Riot Siberia. Performance documentation from Neue Nationalgalerie, July 4 2024. Photo by Max Avdeev.
Pussy Riot Siberia. Performance documentation from Neue Nationalgalerie, July 4 2024.Photo by Max Avdeev.
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...In POLICE STATE Nadya Tolokonnikova 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 STATEconfronts 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..."
