Marina Abramović and the Power of Performance Art

The audience held its breath. The air in the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna in Bologna was thick with anticipation and an undeniable sense of unease. There she stood, Marina Abramović, an almost otherworldly figure bathed in the harsh glare of spotlights.

Before her lay seventy-two objects: roses, a feather, honey, a gun loaded with a single bullet, a hammer, and a knife. For six gruelling hours, Abramović became a conduit, inviting the audience to interact with her and these objects, relinquishing all control.

What followed was a descent into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, a terrifying demonstration of our capacity for both tenderness and cruelty.