Art can be pretty much anything these days and a lot of people, myself included, find that hard to contend with at points. When I heard the Royal Academy of Arts was putting on an exhibition about the well-known Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic with a lot of the marketing around the live-action nude performances I admit I immediately thought it was a bit of a gimmick.
Sex sells and all that, right? That being said, I still was drawn in - I mean the idea of having to squeeze through two naked strangers to get into an art exhibition is weird enough to want to try it. There are also two other nude performances on show as well.
I had heard of Abramovic's artwork before and the thing that makes it so interesting is the interaction with the performance - you are part of the art. But enough chatter, let's get down to what it was like to squeeze between a naked man and woman as they stare into each other's eyes in silence for an hour at a time.
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The squeeze
There are three rooms before you get to the squeeze, the performance is called 'Imponderabilia'. These rooms are filled with videos and photos of Abramovic's other interesting yet disturbing performances which we will come to later.
I peered through the door where the performance was happening and there they were - standing in a purposefully narrowed doorway, a naked woman on the left staring up into the eyes of a naked man. I felt a pang of nervousness as I spotted them which I wasn't expecting of myself.
I spent a bit more time looking at what was on offer in the room and then decided to take the plunge.
As I walked up to it the nervousness returned and I had to think about things I hadn't ever considered like 'Which one shall I face?' or 'I really hope I don't step on their toes.' I decided to face the woman and I felt I didn't want to stay in between them too long.
They stand very close to each other so you can't not touch them - my arm brushed the woman's breasts and I felt my hair hit the man's face behind me. As I came out between them I couldn't help but have a big cheeky grin on my face as if I had just done something naughty.
But what was really interesting was watching other people come through the pair as I looked back on them. All of them like me came out with a little giggle, looking back as their friend came through with them who would also be brandishing a big smirk.
Every single person I watched except one faced the woman interestingly. That was both men and women going through the narrow passage too and the only person who faced the man was a woman who worked there and who I am sure has probably done it many times.
There is another door to the left of the performers for people who don't want to do the strange act but I feel if you go you've got to experience it.
Violence, sex and death
But beyond all the childish glee of the nudity on show which attracts a lot of attention, there are deeper meanings at play here. Perhaps I was too quick to label it as a gimmick, perhaps me jumping to that conclusion is precisely why Abramovic uses nudity so often in her artwork.
Why does it draw so much fascination from people? We've all got the stuff on show right there on our own bodies but we still go. There are some recurring themes throughout the exhibition which explore the bare bones, quite literally, of the human condition.
These are violence, sex and death. Violence is present in her 1974 work Rhythm 0 where members of the public stripped to the waist, cut her with knives and even pointed a loaded gun at her neck.
The sex is in the nudity in part. 'Imponderabilia' is accompanied by two other nude performances - 'Nude with Skeleton' where a naked performer lies underneath a skeleton and 'Luminosity' where a nude performer balances on a bike saddle mounted on the wall.
There are also videos of her manically kissing her artistic partner Ulay on big projectors too.
Death is on show in 'Balkan Baroque' where Abramovic sits upon a pile of bloodied bones and attempts to clean them with a blood-soaked rag - this was dedicated to the victims of the war in Yugoslavia where the artist was born. There is also importance laid on recording her work so it lasts beyond her own death which is best shown by her portrait being carved into marble blocks.
Love, relationships and expression
Though these themes seem pretty harsh and bleak there is also a good deal of vulnerability shown in between in the form of love, relationships and expression. Love is very prevalent in her work with her once artistic and romantic partner Ulay who she did many performances but ended in the 80s due to artistic differences.
The pair separated after walking from either end of the Great Wall of China for 90 days and meeting in the middle.
Relationships can be seen with Ulay as well but also between Abramovic and her audiences, particularly true with interactive performances like 'Imponderabilia' and 'The Artist is Present'.
Finally, expression is everywhere in her work - There is a near-constant nonsensical whaling going on from videos playing of old performances which suggests the artist is trying to communicate to a listener but is misunderstood a lot of the time.
I would definitely recommend going to this exhibition as it makes a great story to tell as well as makes you think in ways you might not have if you never went. It's a powerful collection of art by what seems a strange and troubled woman.
The exhibition is open until 1 January 2024. Get tickets here.
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