Chinese immerse themselves in Abramovic show

Crowds on Friday flocked to Serbian artist Marina Abramovic’s first show in Shanghai, where they were encouraged to become part of the artworks in an “absolutely fully interactive” spectacle.

Abramovic, 77, made her name as a pioneering conceptual and performance artist with feats including a 90-day walk along the Great Wall of China in 1988, but this show — her largest ever — is her first in the country.

“I never thought she would exhibit in China,” said visitor Nikki Yang, 43, who had previously seen Abramovic’s work in New York. “The latitude and perspective of [her work] are incredible; I think she’s great.”

Photo: AFP

Abramovic has said the exhibition, “Transforming Energy,” is “very different than any show ever made,” and “very radical.”

It features videos and photographs from her Great Wall walk, as well as new pieces embedded with Brazilian crystals.

Abramovic is best known for her performance work, including 2010’s The Artist is Present, in which she sat unmoving across a table from more than 1,500 visitors over months at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Photo: AFP

In the new exhibition, hundreds of visitors were transformed into performers, urged to follow the instructions that accompany most of the artwork.

“The artwork is incomplete unless the audience is connecting to it … each and every item of this exhibition is inviting our audience to participate in it,” exhibition curator Shai Baitel said.

As part of the artwork Counting the Rice, visitors sat at small tables and separated black and white grains of rice, counting the number of each color and writing the results on a piece of paper they were instructed to take home.

Photo: AFP

On one floor, visitors were asked to don noise-canceling headphones, while performing actions such as repeatedly opening and closing a door or immersing themselves in a tub of dried flowers.

Yang Shangxuan, 24, said he was especially struck by a work that invited visitors to stand in front of wooden poles holding crystals.

“I closed my eyes to feel the energy of the crystals, and even though I couldn’t feel that, I felt very relaxed,” he said.