A provocative installation by Nadya Tolokonnikova, cofounder of the Russian punk/anarchist collective Pussy Riot, was vandalised in Linz, Austria, on the eve of the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The work, “Pussy Riot Sex Dolls”, is part of “RAGE,” Tolokonnikova’s solo exhibition at OK Center for Contemporary Art that has been extended through popular demand until January 6th, 2025. Installed in a deconsecrated chapel adorned with images of the Virgin Mary, the piece features secondhand sex dolls dressed in balaclavas and platform boots, evoking Pussy Riot’s signature aesthetic. The glass door protecting the installation was shattered, though the artwork remained unscathed. In a joint decision with the museum, Tolokonnikova chose to leave fragments of the broken glass on the floor as a symbol of art’s fragility and resilience.
The incident happened during a year that already saw a spate of religiously charged vandalism in Linz. In early 2024, Esther Strauss’s sculpture Crowning, featuring the Virgin Mary giving birth, was beheaded at St. Mary’s Cathedral. These incidents reflect tensions between contemporary art and religious traditions that have continued in Austria.
Tolokonnikova, who spent two years in a Russian penal colony following Pussy Riot’s infamous 2012 Punk Prayer protest against Vladimir Putin, has long challenged patriarchal and authoritarian structures. She cited her choice of the chapel for the installation as deliberate, framing the Virgin Mary as a feminist symbol.
“Feminists are sacred,” Tolokonnikova said. “I’m convinced the Virgin Mary is one too.”
Local authorities are still investigating the incident, but no suspect has been identified. Meanwhile, this exhibition’s themes of resistance and defiance seem to be growing louder, underlining the uneasy dialogue among art, politics, and faith in public spaces.
Images by Michaela Seiser, courtesy Inge Colsen