The great performances of Marina Abramović and Ulay from 1976 to 1988 in an exhibition in Lyon

In 1986, the Musée d’Art Contemporain (MAC) in Lyon, France, hosted an exhibition by Marina Abramović and her then partner Uwe Laysiepen, better known as Ulay: during that occasion, the two presented to the public the performance cycle entitled Nightsea Crossing, which was later acquired by the museum in the form of objects and photographs that preserved their memory. From September 15, 2021 to January 2, 2022, the MAC will retrace this history with the exhibition Marina Abramović & Ulay. The collection : Performances 1976-1988, which presents an extensive collection of materials to reconstruct the duo’s performance history between 1976 and 1988, delving into works such as the aforementioned Nightsea Crossing (1981-1986) and The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk, the famous performance held in 1988 on the Great Wall of China.

The works of the two artists touch on some fundamental issues that would be described as “anthropological” today: couples, gender issues, body awareness, pain management, exposure to danger, connections with the environment and other cultures, and social and political critique. Highly topical themes, as can be seen, which also emerge from the performances that Marina Abramović and Ulay interpreted between the 1970s and 1980s.

“The works of Marina Abramović and Ulay,” say Herve Percebois, director of collections at the MAC, and Thierry Prat, production manager, "drew on individual perspectives and concerns shared by the two artists; they tested the physical limits of their bodies, the limits of their relationships and mental capacities, as well as the social or cultural codes that influenced them or made them conform to stereotypes of gender, sex and normality. 1977’s Imponderabilia forced visitors to the exhibition where the performance was held to choose which person to face when they entered: Ulay or Marina (the man or the woman) both standing naked on either side of the door. In 1977’s Breathing in/Breathing out, the two performers are locked in a prolonged kiss, breathing in the air exhaled by each other to the point of potential asphyxiation; in Talking about Similarity, 1976, the question is whether it is possible to speak for each other, and Ulay had sewn his lips together, letting Marina speak for him. The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk in 1988 was their performance together and was also the end of their relationship. It took eight years to get approval from Chinese authorities and was a way to test the potential of a relationship they both knew was over. They began walking from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China to meet at its center but, when they finally met, they realized that they could no longer continue to communicate and parted ways for good [...] Marina Abramović and Frank Uwe Laysiepen have created a powerful body of work that has left a lasting impression on viewers lucky enough to witness one of their live performances."

For all information you can log on to the MAC Lyon website.

Pictured: Marina Abramović and Ulay, Nightsea Crossing, Sitting au mac LYON les 9 et 10 octobre 1986 (Lyon, MAC) © Adagp, Paris 2021

The great performances of Marina Abramović and Ulay from 1976 to 1988 in an exhibition in Lyon

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