Sweat and Blood by Diana Burkot / Pussy Riot – ENGLISH

The exhibition Sweat and Blood presents Diana Burkot’s (Russia, b. 1985) societally urgent, yet deeply personal project shaped by our turbulent times that continue to unfold. Sweat and Blood serves as an umbrella project bringing together activism, music, and art. Initiated by Burkot in Moscow in 2018, the project continues to unfold in Europe in 2026. Burkot is a member of the activist collective Pussy Riot. The collective has persistently worked against anti-democratic developments and war. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014, Pussy Riot has been speaking out and acting against Russian aggression and state violence.

In the solo exhibition at Kristianstads Konsthall, video works, installations, performances, and documentary material are shown, including new works created on site. The exhibition forms an assemblage of stories and expressions that converge in Burkot’s determination to stand up for democratic values—human rights, feminism, and LGBTQ+ rights. In this work, she does not shy away from the uncomfortable or the disturbing. On the contrary, she confronts these aspects directly and uses her artistic practice with the aim of effecting change and standing up for equality and justice.

The classic feminist slogan “the personal is political”, coined by Carol Hanisch (1968, 1969) during feminism’s second wave, accompanies Burkot in her artistic practice. For Burkot, this is rooted in the belief that an individual’s private life also has political dimensions, and that power is created and exercised in both the private and personal sphere. Therefore, the choice to include vulnerable and personal narratives in Sweat and Blood at Kristianstads Konsthall —drawn both from herself and from people she has come to know—is a conscious one.

Diana Burkot examines the dynamics between power, feelings of powerlessness, and reclaiming power. She asks herself: how can I, as an individual, resist and create boundaries against external, dominant forces that take up ever more space? At the same time: is it possible to accept the part of my identity that causes pain, shame, or bitterness—the part I deeply resist—yet which is inseparable from who I am?

Punk Culture, Music, and Video Art

Burkot has her roots in punk culture and feminist punk music from her youth spent in Moscow. It was there that she was introduced to a counterculture in which patriarchal norms and structures were questioned and challenged through a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) mentality, or rather, what for Burkot became a “do-it-together” mentality. It was a youth marked by a great deal of freedom, as her parents worked long hours to make ends meet and were therefore rarely at home. At the same time, Lyubertsy the suburb in which they lived, was a relatively unsafe place, marked by violence and crime, which she navigated with the help of close friends. Through part-time work at the age of 18, Burkot was able to pursue a music education—improvised music with drums as her main instrument—at the Moscow College of Improvised Jazz. She later also completed a Master of Arts in “Video Art and Multimedia” at the Rodchenko Moscow School of Contemporary Art.

Activism and Pussy Riot

Punk music led Burkot further into activism when the founders of Pussy Riot asked her if she wanted to join (Nadya Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 2011). Against a backdrop of a growing political discontent, the idea was to carry out political protests with a feminist focus through artistic activist-based methods. The year 2011 became a turning point in Russia, when Vladimir Putin announced that he would begin his third presidential term, following a strategic role swap with Dmitry Medvedev. Putin’s return, made possible by earlier constitutional amendments, triggered widespread protests and a deepening crisis of legitimacy. Shortly thereafter, Burkot took part in her first action with Pussy Riot, ‘Putin Peed His Pants’ (2012), on Moscow’s Red Square. As a member of Pussy Riot, Burkot drew inspiration from the historical struggle of the suffragettes for women’s equal rights and against laws that upheld unequal distribution of power.

In 2012, Pussy Riot gained attention far beyond Russia through their action “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!” in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The choice of location and the action itself were intended to criticize the close cooperation between the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, and Vladimir Putin. This alliance is rooted in a nationalist worldview in which the conflict with the West is presented as existential, war is given religious legitimacy, and patriarchal structures are reinforced. Five members of Pussy Riot carried out the action; three of them were detained by the police, and amid extensive international media coverage, two members were sentenced to two years in remote penal colonies.

Burkot managed to evade the police. Demonstrations and statements from artists and musicians in the West showed strong support for Pussy Riot. In their actions, the members wore colourful balaclavas, signalling a shared identity while simultaneously protecting their faces from recognition. This changed rapidly through the trials and the intense media attention, which singled out some members who were no longer anonymous. Burkot participated in further actions and was released despite being arrested by the police. She has herself reflected on whether this may have been a way to avoid further international attention.

Pussy Riot’s actions may be understood in relation to political theorist Chantal Mouffe’s reflections on critical artistic practices. In Agonistics: Thinking the World Politically (2013), Mouffe describes artistic activism as significant in its ability to unsettle dominant power structures. Its critical dimension lies in rendering visible what dominant consensus seeks to obscure or erase, and in doing so, giving voice to those silenced within the prevailing power structure.

Continued Work in Exile

As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several members of Pussy Riot had to leave Russia and live in exile. Pussy Riot had already criticized the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has continued their resistance during and after 2022 through various artistic actions outside of Russia. Today, Pussy Riot functions as a translocal collective spread across different locations. The members use diverse artistic expressions and activism united by feminism, resistance to authoritarian rule, advocacy for human rights, and more specifically, a continuing clear opposition to the current Russian state and its power structures.

Burkot’s family is partly Ukrainian, and she spent a significant amount of time there, but as many families in Russia hers is divided. The artist’s first two years in exile were marked by intense travel for projects with Pussy Riot, moving from one artist residency to the next as a way to combine her life in exile with her artistic practice and activism. She now has her base in Reykjavik, enabled by ongoing studies in New Audiences & Innovative Practice at the Iceland University of the Arts. Her residence permit is temporary, and at the same time, the situation in Russia has become increasingly pressuring.

I was sentenced to 8 years in a Russian penal colony for a music video that was made when I and other Pussy Riot members were already outside of Russia. It was — and remains — our anti-war statement. / Diana, 15 September 2025

The music video is a protest song released by Pussy Riot in December 2022, ten months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It takes a clear stance against Russian propaganda, military violence, and the invasion of Ukraine.

On December 15, 2025, a court in Moscow classified Pussy Riot as an extremist organization. The decision, which bans the group’s activities in Russia, is widely understood as part of a broader state effort to silence political opposition and cultural dissent. The ruling and the classification exemplify how the personal is political, and the political is personal.

Of course, this is simply another tool of intimidation and an attempt to control freedom of speech and expression. Both the charges and the verdict are complete nonsense. I do not recognize these laws, nor do I recognize the verdict. It is also a difficult mental process that has a strong impact on my mental health. As citizen, I have completely severed my ties with the Russian state, which I see as a horrifying authoritarian patriarchy that knows only the language of violence. At the same time, I feel a rupture not only on the political level but also on the personal one. On a practical level, I cannot obtain any official documents, including the renewal of my Russian international passport. /Diana

Burkot emphasizes that activism is needed in everyday life, and that activists are not some kind of heroes in search of medals or criminal cases. Every individual matter, but it is only through collective engagement that the possibility arises to defend and uphold democracy. For Burkot, the exhibition Sweat and Blood is part of that process: an artistic practice shaped by endurance, resistance, and responsibility—a work of sweat and blood.

In January 2026, Burkot was granted Icelandic citizenship, marking a new chapter in her life and in her artistic and activist journey.

Text: Karin Coenen, curator of the exhibition Sweat and Blood at Kristianstads konsthall.

Coenen is based in Bergen and works as an interdisciplinary researcher at the intersection of art, cultural geography, and innovation, as well as a freelance curator and educator in contemporary art. This text draws on conversations and interviews with Diana Burkot conducted between 2023 and 2026 in connection with the project Sweat and Blood, alongside relevant academic research and g