Marina Abramović is the self proclaimed ‘grandmother of performance art’. Her latest work, a reimagining of Slavic fertility rites, opened in Manchester earlier this week.

Notorious for committing extreme acts to her body, the Serbian first achieved fame with her “Rhythm 0” performance, where she stood still in a room and invited guests to do anything they liked to her. They removed her clothes, cut her neck and held a loaded gun to her head.

Many of her biggest works were made in collaboration with German artist Ulay, her one-time romantic partner. They ended their relationship in 1988 by walking from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China and meeting in the middle.

In 2010, she received international acclaim for her performance The Artist is Present. It saw her sit in a chair for eight hours a day, 6 days a week for three months. She invited anyone to sit across from her. It famously ended with Abramović reuniting with Ulay.

Mark Coles looks back at her career.

Production
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Ben Cooper, Mhairi MacKenzie and Alex Loftus
Editor: Justine Lang
Sound Editor: Duncan Hannant

Archive
Abramović/ Ulay - Light/ Dark (1977)
Abramović/ Ulay - AAA-AAA (1978)
The Artist is Present trailer (2012)
TED Talk - An Art Made of Trust, Vulnerability and Connection (2013)
BBC - This Cultural Life: Marina Abramović (2024)
Marina Abramović at Glastonbury (2024)
Abramović - Balkan Erotic Epic (2025)