Marina Abramović Displays 1,200 Photographic Stills in Landmark Show

Summary

• Marina Abramović deconstructs her famous “Blue Period” and “Red Period” video-based works as 1,200 individual photographic stills
• Each still is unique and one of one, offering collectors a chance to acquire a tangible piece of her performances

In a new exhibition at Saatchi Yates in London, renowned conceptual artist Marina Abramović is giving her work a radical new form. The landmark show reimagines two of her famous performance videos, “Blue Period” and “Red Period,” by transforming them into a series of 1,200 individual photographic stills.

Akin to the artist periods of Picasso and Matisse, Abramović’s pieces explore the extremes of human emotion and physical endurance in her own chapter. In “Red Period,” she is seen in a close up, bathed in red light with her expression shifting between playful and confrontational. In “Blue Period,” she is shown biting her fingernails as a pop song plays, with the act embodying vulnerability and emotional coldness.

Originally part of a larger installation, these videos are now reborn as an archive of stillness and intensity. By displaying each unique still, the exhibition invites viewers to engage with the works on a new level, lingering on each frame to witness the intimate details of both performances.

Marina Abramović: “Blue Period” and “Red Period” is on view at Saatchi Yates in London from October 1-31.

Saatchi Yates
14 Bury St.
London SW1Y 6AL
United Kingdom

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