The work Shch-855 is the first artworks of a series that presents an Oscar statuette clad in a prison uniform, adorned with the prisoner identification number Shch-855 emblazoned across its chest. This piece carries profound symbolism on multiple levels. Primarily, the concept of draping the Oscar in prison garb directly references the documentary film about Alexei Navalny—known in Russia as “Prisoner Number 1”—which won an Oscar on March 13, 2023. Coinciding with this pivotal moment, the artists released this work to highlight the significance of the event.

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The identification number stitched onto the uniform echoes the Nobel Prize-winning novella by Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, where the protagonist, a Gulag inmate, bears the number Shch-854. The first piece unveiled by the artists on the day the award was bestowed upon the film about Navalny featured a statuette with the number one higher—Shch-855. This deliberate choice by the artists symbolises the continuity of Putin's repressions and the mass terror of the early 20th century that filled the Gulag with political prisoners. Despite the passage of time and the anticipated shift in era, Russian prisons remain filled with political detainees.

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According to human rights organisations, over 1,000 individuals are currently incarcerated on political charges—an increase of one-third compared to the number of political prisoners during Brezhnev's tenure in the late Soviet Union. In reality, the total number of those punished for political reasons is considerably higher. The treatment of political prisoners has not evolved; nearly a century later, they endure harsher conditions than ordinary inmates, are often subjected to abuse and torture, and receive longer sentences for their thoughts and expressions than even murderers and rapists.

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The first work from the series, Shch-855, was acquired by Daniel Roher, the director of the film about Navalny. Subsequently, the artists resolved to create a series featuring the Oscar statuette in a prison uniform, systematically assigning each new piece a number that is incrementally higher, thereby underscoring the ongoing increase in the number of politically persecuted individuals in Russia.

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Artist’s quote:

“With this work, we aim to convey our respect for Alexey Navalny, his family, and his supporters. We also wish to express solidarity with the hundreds of political prisoners who are incarcerated solely for their divergent views from those of the Kremlin. We dream of the day when all unjustly condemned individuals will be released and will take the places of their 'executioners' in epaulettes and judicial robes.”

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