Meet the Russian Activist Who Nailed His Balls to Moscow's Red Square

Petr at a protest

Every year, Russia honours its police force with a day-long commemoration called Police Day. This year, celebrations for the imaginatively named event fell on Sunday the 10th of November, and the public paid tribute to their law enforcement by watching Vladimir Putin cry in public and another man nail his testicles to the ground in Red Square.

That man was Petr Pavlensky, a political artist who's got a raft of similarly painful protest projects under his belt– stuff like wrapping himself in barbed wire to protest restrictive legislation and sewing his mouth shut in support of Pussy Riot. This time round, Pavlensky said his self-induced testicle mutilation was to protest "Russia's descent into a police state".

I thought it was about time someone gave Petr some attention, so I called him up for a chat.

VICE: Hi Petr. You nailed your balls to the ground in Red Square the other day. Can you tell me a little more about that?
Petr Pavlensky: It's not the power that keeps people by the balls, it's the people who keep themselves restricted. Pretty soon everyone's going to be in jail, but it won't matter to anybody any more because, by then, the country will have transformed into a state prison regime.

You're an artist, right? How much does that cross over into your activism?
I am an artist who does political art. Activism is important to me as a life principle – it's the effect of primary and secondary reasoning and theorising; no argument is without action. However, political art and activism is not the same thing. Activism is the struggle and shakeup of society; political art is aimed at the destruction and exposure of the apparatus of power. Under certain circumstances, it is a catalyst to the political process.

Got it. What do you focus on?
I'm focused on political art.

Would you say Pussy Riot were political artists?
Yes. There is currently a huge awakening surrounding the importance of art and politics.

The Russian government didn't like Pussy Riot's political art. How has everyone reacted to your actions?
It varies a lot, from accusations of madness, threats and hints of retribution, to letters of gratitude and support.

Petr with his balls nailed to the floor

Aren’t you worried about the cops?
They’re interested in why I do what I do – if I have mysterious agendas or if I’m doing it for money. Basically, they want to know my motives. In Red Square, they covered me in a cloth, claiming it was to keep me warm, but it was only to hide me from onlookers and cameras – they took it back when the crowd dispersed.

Why is self-mutilation a theme in your work?
I want to show what the establishment is doing with the power they have. Their power is violence and I can only imitate that distinct visual code.

Violence must be confronted with violence?
Not always. But violence directed at something that is equally violent is an effective method of riddance. That is, until someone gets liquidated. There's a philosophy of endless carnage; it’s a wilfully self-turning mechanism of violence, and if you can get in the works you can bring it to a screeching halt. Then you have the opportunity to stop it for good.

What do you hope to achieve with your art?
I’ve got two priorities: firstly, I want to show everyone the possibility and ease of activism. Your resources can be your body or household appliances – you don’t need money to make a statement. You only need motivation and the desire to overcome the phobias imposed by power. Secondly, actions cause people to react and criticise. Call it a social reflex. They question what is happening and realise the power of propaganda imposed by totalitarian ideologies.

Cool. What's next? Do you plan on protesting against homosexual oppression?
Members of the LGBTIQ community would answer that better. I’m all for overcoming sexual repression and taboo, but they are the ones who need to understand the specifics of what’s going on – I have no right to comment for them. And my work is organic. It’s assembled from a plurality of events and situations that happen to the people around me. Everything I do is a single act. I don’t work in a series, so I have no further plans.

Great. Thanks, Petr.

Follow Tristan on Twitter: @tristanjamesme

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