Marina Abramović's solo show at the Royal Academy was a testament to why the artist has stayed relevant for 55 years

Marina Abramović sits majestically on a white horse, holding a flag that flutters in the breeze as she gazes into the middle distance. Marina Abramovic´ waves a red handkerchief in the air and dances frenetically to folk music. Marina Abramovic´ stands before a crowd, her body marked with knife wounds and weighed down with chains.

These are just a few of the images that confront visitors to the artist’s much-anticipated solo exhibition at the Royal Academy—on film and in photographs, and in several instances through live recreations of her original, pioneering performances, executed by actors trained in her method. The show has inevitably attracted debate for its more risqué elements—to enter one of the rooms, gallery-goers must squeeze through two nude performers blocking their route—but Abramovic´ is no stranger to controversy. Throughout her five-decade career, she has consistently made headlines for her boldly provocative artworks, which have seen her push her physical and mental endurance to its absolute limits, often making uncomfortable revelations about human behaviour in the process. "My work is about telling the truth, even if it’s painful," she says. "I like to show things as they are, and I think that resonates with people."

The Royal Academy exhibition attests to her versatility as an artist: though best known as the woman who brought performance art to a mainstream audience, she has also worked across video, photography, installation, and sculpture. In the late 1980s, she created a series of ‘Transitory Objects’—crystal-studded, furniture like pieces with which members of the public can interact—while, more recently, she has experimented with the possibilities of digital art, from NFTs to mixed reality.

Despite a serious health scare earlier this year (what was supposed to be a routine knee operation led to a near-fatal pulmonary embolism), Abramovic´ has thrown herself into a packed schedule of events in the UK this autumn, from a Southbank Centre takeover for a series of live performances to the launch of her operatic production, '7 Deaths of Maria Callas', at the English National Opera. "I came to England with the attitude that I have to live in the present," says the 76-year-old of her apparently boundless energy. What keeps her motivated is the desire to continue surprising her audiences and evolving in the face of new trends and technologies. "It’s easy to make stuff for five or six years, but to stay relevant for 55? That’s not easy—it’s hell," she acknowledges. "But it’s all I know how to do."

This piece originally appeared in the Dec 2023/Jan 2024 issue of Harper's Bazaar UK.

Feature Credit: @abramovicinstitute/instagram

Image Credits: @abramovicinstitute/instagram