He is known for his controversial political art performances, [ 1 ] which he calls "events of Subject-Object Art" [ 2 ] [ 3 ] previously "events of political art". Pavlensky and Oksana Shalygina founded an independent online newspaper Political Propaganda in , which was dedicated to contemporary art in political contexts, "overcoming cultural chauvinism, implemented by the government", feminism and gender equality.
Pavlensky first became known for sewing his mouth shut at a political art event staged against the incarceration of members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot.
Petersburg with his lips sewn shut, holding a banner that stated: "Action of Pussy Riot was a replica of the famous action of Jesus Christ Matthew —13 ". Rather, I felt I had to make a gesture that would accurately reflect my situation".
On 14 November Reuters published its list of the 98 best photos of the year, which included Seam. On 3 May Pavlensky staged a political art event aimed at showing the existence of a person caught inside a repressive legal system. And at last the Blasphemy law. That is why I organized this action.
The human body is naked like a carcass, there is nothing on it except the barbed wire, which by the way was invented for the protection of livestock. These laws like the wire, keep people in individual pens: all this persecution of political activists, "prisoners of May, 6" , governmental repressions is the metaphor of the pen with the barbed wire around it. All this has been done in order to turn people into gutless and securely guarded cattle, which can only consume, work, and reproduce.
