Marina Abramovic will not fly to the opening of her retrospective

Due to surgery, the legendary artist will have to travel by sea

The Marina Abramovic retrospective at London’s Royal Academy of Arts is one of the most anticipated autumn events in the art world. For the first time in 255 years, a woman’s project will be shown there, and what a project! The artist, originally from Serbia, is called the “grandmother” of performance art. Marina writes art history with her own body and spirit. Actions where her life was in real danger brought her worldwide fame. While preparing a large-scale project to mark her 50th anniversary in art, the artist faced a new challenge.

In a conversation with writer Sinead Gleeson recorded for the Royal Academy magazine, the artist admitted that she was recently diagnosed with an embolism, which required surgery on a blocked artery. “It was really life-threatening. Doctors forbade me to fly on planes,” said Marina Abramovich. This confession in itself is a shock, because we are talking about an artist who decided to take the most impossible and dangerous actions.

One day, in 1974, in the Morra Gallery in Naples, she laid out 72 objects on a table: from bread and apples to a knife, a whip and a loaded pistol. Visitors could do whatever they wanted with it, using whatever was on the table. For six hours the artist stood motionless, offering no resistance, while others controlled her body. As a result, Marina was cut and almost shot. It was an experiment more on the public, which revealed the wild face of the crowd, because people had a choice – to do something pleasant with Marina and torture her. The crowd chose unpunished cruelty. In fact, the retrospective at the Royal Academy will open with documentation of the performance “Rhythm 0”.

No less dangerous was the “Energy of Peace” campaign (1980), about trust in the relationship between a man and a woman. Marina’s lover Ulay held a bow pointed at her chest, and she held on to its handle, pulling the string even more. At any second, one of them could lose control, and then the arrow would pierce Abramovich. During another joint performance by Marina and Ulay, they kissed continuously until they fainted.

The retrospective will conclude with the 2010 performance “In the Presence of the Artist.” Not easy either. During the action, anyone could sit on a chair opposite Marina and look into her eyes, but always without opening their eyes. The staring game lasted two months at New York’s MOMA. During this time, the artist met the gaze of 1,500 visitors. The action lasted without breaks for lunch, only at night Marina had rest.

However, the exhibition will contain not only photos and videos of famous actions, but also installations, sculptures and drawings. They will be presented thematically, rather than chronologically: so as to voice the main ideas that Marina Abramović explores with her radical creativity: spirituality and pain, the connection between the human and the non-human – in a situation where the artist’s life depends on the decisions and actions of the viewer. And in a space where only men have exhibited for centuries, Marina is going to organize a special event only for girls – with an English tea party.

The project was originally planned to take place in 2020, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Now the opening was almost prevented by the artist’s health problems. However, as always, she speaks with enthusiasm about the difficulties she has endured: “I consider the postponement of the exhibition for three years to be a blessing from God. I’m glad it happened because I had time to reflect and change everything – it turned out to be a completely different project.”

“I am full of ideas, I love life, I love to work. I have no plans to retire – retirement is impossible for an artist. After my recent surgery, for some strange reason, I feel like a whole new phase has begun for me. Everything is ready for the exhibition, and now all I have to do is catch a ship to the UK to go to the opening and hold my tea party for women,” says the artist, who at 76 looks stunning and, despite everything, is full of energy.