Nadya Tolokonnikova: Punk’s Not Dead

William Patchen: Fabricating Dissent

Fabrication artist William Patchen played a crucial role in realizing some of the most physically demanding and symbolically potent works in Punk’s Not Dead, Nadya Tolokonnikova’s multi-venue exploration of power, resistance, and personal myth.

In the now-iconic cheese grater slide—a brutalist, participatory sculpture first unveiled at Honor Fraser Gallery—Patchen was responsible for translating Tolokonnikova’s conceptual sketch into a safe but viscerally jarring reality. Built from industrial aluminum panels and engineered to mimic the texture and menace of a giant kitchen grater, the slide invited viewers to experience a symbolic abrasion: playful on its surface, deeply political beneath. Patchen’s ingenuity ensured that the piece was both structurally sound and emotionally charged, balancing safety compliance with the raw aggression of Tolokonnikova’s vision.

At LACMA, Patchen’s craft took on a somber tone in the construction of a full-scale prison cell installation, replicating the conditions of Tolokonnikova’s incarceration during her Pussy Riot years. Working from photos, memory, and Tolokonnikova’s descriptions, Patchen sourced period-accurate materials—steel bars, cold tile, peeling paint—to recreate the oppressive minimalism of the Russian penal system. His attention to spatial authenticity turned the installation into more than a set piece—it became a site of remembrance, confrontation, and immersive empathy.