Russia is pornography

The only, albeit dubious, island of freedom in Russia now is found in sexuality, erotica, and pornography. Despite all the military-patriotic rhetoric, Russia is descending into the abyss of genuine depravity. This depravity is characterized by a collective, unified, and patriarchal dominance, devoid of love but steeped in bloody lust and greed—factors that have ultimately led to war.

Plato distinguished between Heavenly Aphrodite and Earthly Aphrodite. The former represents a stronghold of love, art, and grace, while the latter embodies bodily baseness and debauchery. I believe that Russia is treading the path of Earthly Aphrodite, voraciously consuming in its propaganda and military fervor all that is beautiful—specifically, human lives and the culture (in the broad sense) that human life begets.

Unable to address the topic of war directly (given my lack of voice, unlike the Ukrainians) and restrained from actively opposing the oppressive regime (due to the fear of imprisonment and deep frustration over criminal cases against political prisoners), I have chosen to work with sexuality as a last hope for at least some resistance against the tyrannical regime.

Polina Muzyka is a 26 years old Russian photographer and performance artist. She has studied at Rodchenko Art-School in the workshop of Sergei Bratkov and at the Russian State University for the Humanities at the Faculty of Philosophy. Her works have been exhibited in Russia, Italy and elsewhere.