GlitterQueen's Feminist Rebellion

Polina Korobova, the Singapore-based performance artist who goes by GlitterQueen, is known for her mesmerizing performance art pieces where she rolls around in glitter, covering every part of her body with the notoriously hard-to-wash-off substance. For her, glitter is the symbol of a woman’s everlasting power. It is hyper feminine, beautiful and considered innocent, yet at the same time, glitter is resilient and long-lasting. “I’ve been called the herpes of the art world, because you can never get rid of glitter,” she says in an interview with Vogue Magazine. This is why the GlitterQueen’s work is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality.

Polina Korobova, otherwise known as GlitterQueen, performing her glitter performance for the public at LaSalle College of the Arts in 2017. Image courtesy of Polina Korobova and Vogue Singapore.

Before each performance, Korobova will slather herself in Vaseline, which makes the glitter go “everywhere, my eyes, nose, mouth and even in my vagina,” she shared. The audience would almost always react in shock, drawing them into a dialogue on women's empowerment that begins with them questioning her sanity during the act. More than women’s resilience, her glitter performances are testimonies to just how maddening it can feel to exist as a contemporary woman. Between the gender pay gap and the double standards that make women strive to balance both a career and homemaking, today’s women may just appear as mad as the GlitterQueen herself.

Lingerie covered in glitter by GlitterQueen. Image courtesy of Polina Korobova and Vogue Singapore.

The unapologetically feminist tone of her work is also a call back to her Russian heritage and childhood. Korobova had spent the first 16 years of her life living in Russia, and at the time, women were discouraged from leaving their homes after 8 pm. Yet, Korobova was able to see the Russian feminist art collective, Pussy Riot, rise from the ashes. The collective uses provocative imagery, radical activism and also their bodies in performance art to call out the injustices in Russia, not only those enacted against women but also many other citizens. Korobova has clearly been inspired by their bold acts and statements.

Korobova herself has used her work to advocate for the Russian activist Yulia Tsvetkova, who was imprisoned for pornography charges after she drew naked female bodies to advocate for body positivity. For this, Korobova photographed herself nude, coated head-to-toe in her signature glitter. On a lighter note, Korobova also uses her glitter performance to create short videos on social media that poke fun at a contemporary woman's experience in today’s patriarchal society. She talks about getting stood up last minute on dates, being treated as an option and more.

GlitterQueen in a campaign for Nike Air Max. Image courtesy of @godsavethequeen/Instagram.

Polina Korobova, also known as GlitterQueen, uses glitter as a powerful symbol of women’s resilience and enduring strength. Drawing inspiration from her Russian heritage and the Russian feminist icon, Pussy Riot, Korobova’s glitter performances not only advocate for women’s rights but also highlight the absurdities and injustices faced by contemporary women. She does all this with a captivating and altogether new aesthetic position, effectively engaging her audience in a conversation around gender issues for a brighter future.

GlitterQueen photographed by Maria (@thebrisva). Image courtesy of @godsavethequeen/Instagram.

Find out more about GlitterQueen’s glitter performances and their other pieces by checking their Instagram on @godsavethequeen.