A visitor enters through two nude models at Marina Abramovic's exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Arts.
Photo Credit: Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic's exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Arts has been grabbing headlines across the world after it came to light that visitors for the same will have to squeeze through two nude models at the entrance.
The exhibition in question is set to go live from September 23, and will continue till the New Year.
In an interview with the BBC, Andrea Tarsia, the Royal Academy's head of exhibitions said, “Entering between the two naked performers forces those with tickets into a confrontation between nakedness, and the gender, the sexuality, the desire.”
However, people will not be forced to use this entrance only, as there will be a separate entrance for those who feel uncomfortable experiencing the performance, called Imponderabilia, first hand.
The exhibition will also focus on other nude performances like 'Nude with a Skeleton', in which a woman will lie down on the ground with a skeleton over her for hours.
Visitors will also be witness to several moments from Abramovic's career through installations, videos, and performances.
Another performance, 'Luminosity', will see a woman pinned like a crufix to a wall. Tickets for Abramovic's exhibition have been priced at £25.50-27.50.
The Royal Academy's official website says regarding Abramovic, "The body has always been both her subject and medium. Exploring her physical and mental limits in works that ritualise the simple actions of everyday life, she has withstood pain, exhaustion and danger in her quest for emotional and spiritual transformation."
Abramovic, the Academy says, had a loaded gun pressed to her head after inviting viewers to freely interact with her in her early work, Rhythm 0. In her subsequent piece, The House with the Ocean View (which will also be showcased at the London exhibition), the artist spent 12 days living in a house that had been built in a gallery.