Pulse logo
Pulse Region

Why guests had to squeeze between 2 naked models to enter an art show

Would you press yourself against two naked people to enter an art exhibition?
The exhibition was at the Royal Academy of Arts [Perthnow]
The exhibition was at the Royal Academy of Arts [Perthnow]

An art exhibition in London featured a unique installation where visitors must squeeze between two nude models to enter.

The exhibition was part of a career retrospective of Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović.

According to Royal Academy head of exhibitions Andrea Tarsia, the installation forces visitors to confront nakedness, gender, sexuality, and desire.

Two naked performance artists are standing on either side of a small entryway in a piece named Imponderabilia, according to the description. The performance by Abramovic and Ulay explored the notion of "the artist as a door to the museum."

They entice the spectator to move diagonally between them. Other pieces in the exhibition include Nude with Skeleton, in which a performer is exposed beneath a skeleton, and Luminosity, in which a naked artist is hanged from a bicycle saddle put on the wall.

Abramovic and her then-partner, Ulay, performed the odd work for the first time in 1977. In the 255-year history of the Royal Academy, Abramovic is the first female artist to hold a solo exhibition in the main galleries.

The exhibition has received mixed reviews, with the Guardian calling it "vital" and the Times calling it "remorseless."

Next Article