‘I can’t do performances in public like I used to, people follow me around and want to take selfies,’ said Marina Abramović at the opening of 'As One'. The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Athens-based contemporary arts organisation NEON. On show at the city's Benaki Museum, the project saw Abramović self-select a group of Athenian artists to learn her globally famous practice, The Method. It’s a smart use of the celebrity Abramović’s work has garnered – and despite the selfies, she launched 'As One' with a two-week residency in Athens.
'As One' began with a callout for Greek artists interested in practising The Abramović Method, honed by the artist over 40 years in locales from São Paulo to New York. She then chose 29 candidates from 320 applications based on the intuitive criteria of ‘when they’re good, I know instantly’, to teach the levelling kernel of her manifesto: ‘It’s about pain and communication. People would rather text than phone, no-one makes eye-contact anymore. We need to communicate physically.’
This conviction runs through the performances. Abramović is clearly interested in the transformative effects offered by fear. Thanassis Akokkalidis' Don’t Look Down – an attempt to cure vertigo by standing on the precipice of a building – testified to Abramović’s commitment to self-actualisation as a harrowing process.
‘In Athens, Marina’s presence is very important,’ said NEON director Elina Kountouri. ‘She is key to helping people understand the power of durational performance.’
For Abramović, the residency is her most political to date and promotes art as political platform: ‘I’d like to take it to the Ukraine and Paris. Many governments view creativity as a luxury, but culture is a necessity. People can change consciousness by developing an awareness of themselves, that’s what performance does. I can only create change with art and performance, these are my tools.’
As One is an exhibition in collaboration with Athens-based contemporary arts organisation NEON. Pictured: Marina Abramovic In The Method Space for 'As One'.
As One began with a callout for Greek artists interested in practising The Method, honed over 40 years in countries from Sao Paolo, to New York. Pictured: The Method, by Marina Abramović, 2016, in Athens
Abramović is interested in the transformative effects offered by fear, and Thanassis Akokkalidis Don’t Look Down (pictured) is an attempt to cure vertigo by standing on the precipice of a building.
The performances are a display of Abramović’s commitment to self-actualisation as a harrowing process. Pictured: As One: Thanassis Akokkalidis Don't Look Down, by Marina Abramović, 2016.
INFORMATION
'As One' is on view until 24 April. For more information, visit NEON's website
ADDRESS
Benaki Museum
Pireos 138
Athens
-
Inside D.S. & Durga’s new Los Angeles store, inspired by Ray Kappe’s 1960s California homeCult fragrance brand D.S. & Durga has opened a second Los Angeles store in Silver Lake, inspired by Ray Kappe’s 1967 Pacific Palisades home
-
The design-led restaurants to know in 2025This year’s most read-about restaurant openings to inspire your 2025 cravings, from a playful diner in New York to an art-and-dining hub in Marrakech
-
From Polestar 1 to Polestar 6, a definitive guide to the acclaimed EV brand's cars and conceptsNow that the new Polestar 3 and 4 are on the road, we take stock of Polestar’s progress and chronicle its evolution, cataloguing all the EV car company’s models and concepts to date
-
Marina Abramović at the Royal Academy: trauma to transcendenceMarina Abramović at the Royal Academy of Arts in London is a solo show spanning five decades of practice. Amah-Rose Abrams reports
-
Marina Abramović revisits her Energy Clothes in a piercing Vienna showMarina Abramović considers the role of the body in ‘Energy Clothes’, debuting a new photo series and installation at Vienna’s Galerie Krinzinger, open until 29 July 2023
-
Marina Abramović’s debut NFT drop celebrates heroes of the Web3 eraThe Hero 25FPS, a collaboration between Marina Abramović and digital art and culture platform Circa, will reward ideas that ‘make the world a better, more beautiful place’
-
Marina Abramović in London: death, Maria Callas and breaking the rules of OperaAhead of her dramatic operatic takeover in London, we spoke to Marina Abramović about ‘Seven Deaths’, her multifaceted homage to soprano Maria Callas
-
Former tobacco factory sets Athens' radical art scene alightAmbitious group show ‘Portals’ transforms Athens’ historic Public Tobacco Factory into a platform for international contemporary art, including new work by Glenn Ligon, Teresa Margolles and Danh Vō
-
In Athens, Carwan Gallery opens with inaugural exhibition by Omer ArbelCarwan Gallery’s outpost in the Greek capital's old port is a new home for the contemporary design gallery's international roster of creatives
-
Island retreat: Sterna Art Project 2016 takes over Nisyros, Greece -
Grand statements: Ai Weiwei unveils new works at Athens’ Cycladic Art Museum
