Ksenia Yurkova

The Figures of Non-Utterance

Artistic persecution is neither new nor confined to authoritarian regimes. In democracies, repressive mechanisms are often driven by corporate interests, religious moralism, institutional self-censorship, or market predation. Butler describes this as a system of coercion where unspoken codes dictate permissible expression. German sociology offers vorauseilender Gehorsam (anticipatory obedience): voluntary compliance with presumed expectations, performed before any command. This illusion of free action reinforces totalitarian psychology, while Noelle-Neumann‘s ‘spiral of silence’ demonstrates that fear of isolation overrides personal conviction. Today, the constitutional guarantees of free speech and expression in many states do not correspond with the realities of media sprawl and data transparency. These digital ecosystems can place artists – particularly those in emigration or exile – under surveillance and in tangible danger, irrespective of legal protections.

Self-censorship rarely emerges from nothing. The refusal to engage with contentious subjects, the repetition of platitudes, or the ‘gelatinisation’ of aesthetics (Grzinic), are all political gestures (Rancière). Arendt observed in 1967 that factual truth, when inconvenient, faces unprecedented hostility, often becoming taboo despite public knowledge. In other instances, indirect expression is not an illusory choice but a matter of survival.

Statistics on persecution are stark. Even if Freemuse Organisation documents a constant escalation, reported cases represent only the tip of the iceberg. The majority remain unregistered, as publicity often endangers safety. We know little of artists’ coping strategies, self-protection mechanisms, or internal conflicts. Expression becomes indirect, disguised, or defined by its absence – this system of non-appearance forms the core of my research.

During the residency at Saari, I plan to conduct this investigation in three forms: text-based interviews with artists; a subsequent video essay incorporating performative contributions; and a photographic collaboration with interviewed artists who prefer to remain anonymous. Portraiture will document presence without compromising safety. Representation methods – photography, montage, or collage – will be agreed upon collaboratively, visualising approaches to the gap between presence and absence.