An exhibition coming to London in 2020 will have visitors squeezing past naked male and female performers - if they aren't too squeamish, of course.
The exhibition of Serbian artist Marina Abramović's work will take place at the Royal Academy of Arts, and more than 50 works are going on display that will span 50 years of her pioneering performance art as well as new works conceived especially for this exhibition. Curated in close collaboration with Abramović, it will offer visitors the sort of intense, physical encounter for which she has become known.
Imponderabilia is the name of the work that features the naked performers, and it was first performed in Bologna in 1977 by the artist and her then-partner, Ulay. It involves a male and female performer standing at either side of a doorway, so visitors must squeeze sideways through the narrow space facing either the man or the woman to gain entrance. Happily for those for whom this might be too uncomfortable, there will be another regular doorway that they can use.
Now aged 72, Abramović will participate in the programme of talks and events surrounding the exhibition. Her new work reflects on changes to her body, and explores her perception of the transition between life and death. Audiences will also engage with the ongoing debate that she explores throughout the exhibition, of whether performance art can outlive the moment of performance?
'Marina Abramović: 50 Years of Pioneering Performance Art’ runs at the Royal Academy of Arts from September 26 to December 8 2020, and further information is available here.
