Artwork Description
Nadya Tolokonnikova – Dark Matter: Virgin Mary +
Dimensions: 20 x 16″
Year: 2024
Medium: mixed media on panel with illumination
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s Dark Matter body of work began after the U.S. overturned Roe v. Wade. She felt we were entering A New Dark Age. Yet,in the darkness one can find light. Tolokonnikova uses light technology to illuminate the darkness, letting light shine through. Virgin Mary is a common subject in Tolokonnikova’s iconography, representing the supreme power of women, even when they are subjected to patriarchal oppression.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is known internationally as the founder of the Russian feminist activist group Pussy Riot. She has instigated some of the most significant actions of social justice against Russian tyranny, including Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Tolokonnikova was subsequently imprisoned in Siberia, where she was forced to sew Russian army uniforms.