Fast food restaurant Burger King is launching a line of burgers inspired by radical performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky's most bizarre stunts, the Russian culture site Afisha Daily reported Monday.
Available only in St. Petersburg, the “Pavlensky Burger” will come in four different varieties. Each allude to one of the artist's infamous past performances — whether that be wrapping himself naked in barbed wire, setting fire to the door of the Russian Security Services' headquarters, or sewing his lips shut in protest of Kremlin policies.
Customers will apparently soon be able to choose between a burger wrapped in “edible barbed wire,” one burnt on one side, and one partly sewn shut. Another burger will be “nailed to a platform,” a reference to the performance which saw Pavlensky nail his own scrotum to the cobbles of Red Square.
Burger King hopes that the meals will bring “culture to the masses,” the chain's PR company said in a press release, quoted by Afisha Daily. The company has launched a number of provocative advertising campaigns since the start of the year, with several slogans incorporating strong innuendo.
Pavlensky's work has made him a highly-controversial figure within Russia, bringing him into constant conflict with the authorities.
The artist was most recently released from jail on June 8 after serving seven months in pre-trial detention.
A Moscow Court found Pavlensky guilty of damaging a cultural site for setting fire the doors of Russia's Security Service's headquarters last year. The artist, who was fined 500,000 rubles ($7,750), told reporters that he wanted to protest against the mounting repression of civil society.
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