Marina Abramovi膰 is a defining figure in contemporary听art.听Since the beginning of her career in the early 1970s, the Serbian-born artist has turned the body into a site of experimentation and expression. Her pioneering works include听Rhythm 0听(1974), in which she allowed audiences to use certain props on her however they wished. Also renowned is听Rhythm 5听(1974), where she lay in the centre of a burning five-point听star until she almost lost consciousness. Fast forward to 2010, and听The Artist Is Present听at MoMA saw Abramovi膰 sit in silence across from visitors every day for three months. These performances married endurance with empathy, complicity with loss of control, passivity with danger. They were, in every sense, groundbreaking.听
Now, she听returns听to her Balkan heritage with a bold new work exploring desire, spirituality and our connection to nature.听Balkan Erotic Epic,听presented by Factory International at听Aviva Studios, Manchester, is brought to life by a cast of over 70 performers, including听dancers, musicians and singers. The听production unfolds across 13 visceral scenes, each drawing on legends and beliefs from the region. In this piece, Abramovi膰 gets to the heart of questions that have defined her life鈥檚 work: where does the body end and the spirit begin? What lies beyond shame, fear and language?听
This show听draws from traditions spanning Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Roma and Traveller communities. The artist explains: 鈥淚n our culture today, we label anything erotic as pornography.听Balkan Erotic Epic听is the most ambitious work in my career. This gives me a chance to go back to my Slavic roots and culture, look back to听ancient rituals听and deal with sexuality, in relation to the universe and unanswered questions of our existence. Through this project I would like to show poetry, desperation, pain, hope, suffering and reflect our own mortality.鈥 There is something sacred about this message, resisting modern perceptions of sexuality. They echo long-buried folk听rituals听that did not see the sensual as taboo, but rather as transcendence.听
The 13 scenes are grounded in specific cultural practices and myths.听Fertility Rite听sees people writhe against the ground in a desperate call for fertility, whilst听Massaging the Breast听sees听women gesticulate over graves to awaken the earth. Meanwhile, in听Scaring the Gods,听performers听recreate an centuries-old听ceremony听by baring themselves to the sky to banish storms. The sections invite听audiences to reclaim the听body听as a site of power, mystery and transformation.听In addition to the performance,听Balkan Erotic Epic: The Installation听provides an opportunity for audiences to go behind the scenes and experience the set design and key works from the production at their own pace, from fertile forests to Balkan bathtubs and a life-size caf茅.听Audiences are invited to navigate the performance freely, with pop-up encounters punctuating the action, including intimate performances听and haunting听music.听
The work鈥檚听presentation in Manchester marks the beginning of an international tour, starting听with Barcelona in January 2026, before travelling to Berlin, New York and Hong Kong. This is the latest in a number of exhibitions that have seen Abramovi膰 push British audiences to reconsider how they view nudity and intimacy. Most notable is听Imponderabilia, initially performed in 1977 and resurrected at London鈥檚 Royal Academy in 2023. The piece saw two naked figures 鈥 a man and a woman 鈥 stand in a doorway, requiring visitors to squeeze between them to enter.听In a 2024 interview with the听Telegraph, the artist said of the British public: 鈥測ou鈥檙e so puritan about everything, about nudity, about sexual organs.鈥澨
At a time when bodies are politicised, pleasure is commodified and intimacy is fragmented, Abramovi膰鈥檚 work represents a return to ourselves. It is a reclamation of feminine wisdom. In moving through the show, audiences become one with this process, urged to reconsider the body as a site of transformation.听
Balkan Erotic Epic听is at Aviva Studios, Manchester 9 – 19 October:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1&5. Dancers Lucy Harries, Ting Lee and Marianna Syfridi in Scaring The Gods To Stop The Rain from Marina Abramovi膰’s Balkan Erotic Epic. Photo: Marco Anelli 漏 @marco_anelli_studio.
2. Tito’s Funeral from Marina Abramovi膰’s Balkan Erotic Epic. Photo: Marco Anelli 漏 @marco_anelli_studio.
3. Scaring The Gods To Stop The Rain from Marina Abramovi膰’s Balkan Erotic Epic. Photo: Marco Anelli 漏 @marco_anelli_studio.
4. Knife Dance from Marina Abramovi膰’ Balkan Erotic Epic. Photo: Marco Anelli 漏 @marco_anelli_studio.
