Pussy Riot Member Spills Blood On “Rainbow Street”

This morning, Pussy Riot member Diana Burkot spilled her blood across Skólavörðustígur in an act of performance art. The artist walked up the colourful street as a crowd formed, stopping intermittently to scrub her blood into the road with a rag.

This performance is tied to her current exhibition SWEAT and BLOOD at Núllið Gallerý. The artist employs visual art, video, audio, and performance to articulate her experience as a refugee, as she and her fellow band members have been deemed terrorists by the Russian government because of their outspoken politics and support of LGBTQIA+ rights.

Diana Burkot has been living and studying in Iceland since 2023, and this performance was part of a graduation showcase from the Icelandic University of the Arts. The exhibition in Núllið will be open through Sunday, April 27, at 21:00, but there is also likely still blood on Skólavörðustígur.