TurnHurst

Imponderablia (1977)

In 1976 Marina Abramovic met Uwe Laysiepen from West Germany. He went by the single name Ulay. They were both born on the same day.

When they started their collaboration they explored artistic identity. They were both interested in the traditions of cultural heritages and the individual's desire for ritual. Their collective being consequently became 'the other' - they often spoke of eachother as parts of a 'two headed body'. They dressed and behaved like twins and created an intense relationship of complete trust.

A series of works allowed their physical  bodies to create additional spaces for audience interaction. In Relation in Space (1976) they ran around the room (like two bodies on two planets) mixing male and female energy. In Relation in Movement (1976) the pair drove their car inside a museum for 365 laps; a black liquid oozing from the car forming a kind of sculpture that each lap represented a year.

Their work became even more intense - to create Death Self they connected their mouths and took in each other's exhaled breathes until they had used up all of the available oxygen. 17 minutes after the beginning of the performance they both fell to the floor unconscious, their lungs having filled with carbon dioxide. This piece explored the idea of an individual's ability to absorb the life of another person, exchanging and destroying it.

One of their most famous piece was at the opening of an exhibition in June 1977 at the Museum of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna Bologna. They stood naked at the entrance opposite each other in such a way that the people streaming in had to squeeze singly through the gap between the two, unable to avoid physical contact. The crucial factor was that everybody had to decide whom to look at as they passed. This gap constitutes the actual Performance space in which the viewer plays an active part. It is fitting that this actioon is placed in a museum where people go, as spectators, learning at the very entrance that they are involved themselves.

The borderline between art and life seemed to be thin for Ulay and Abramovic, especially considering how often a real danger becomes part of the artistic concept. 

For more information and some documentation of video works check out this website.