Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QromENaHdq0
For this performance piece, I decided to dive into the concept of grief. After recently losing someone, life hasn't felt the same. Instead of faking it and doing something that doesn't reflect me in the now, I chose to take a personal approach and share how this process has been. Marina Abramovic is a performance artist who challenged herself physically and mentally when composing her pieces. The work that I decided to reflect on is her piece, "A Minute of Silence." In this performance, she invites the audience to sit across from her in a room that is pitch silent. They stared back at each other with no words being spoken and to her surprise her ex-husband joined in. This a man that she used to be married to and ended up separating with at the end of one of her pieces they composed together. The scene between the two was very emotional and still they sat in silence letting their faces speak for them. She is grieving the loss of a relationship while I am grieving the loss of a very close loved one.
Challenging myself emotionally and mentally, I decided to flip through an old photo album that belonged to my grandma. You can see me sitting down in the semi-dark room, in a top that belonged to her, subsequently adding photos onto the pages. In the background, I decided to add a very personal voice-over of a letter that I presented at the funeral. This photo album we were barely allowed to touch but I find comfort in looking at old and recent photos of her. She was big on family and photos, even making her own DIY collages made exactly from the contents of the photo album.
As I try to figure out and work my way through this grieving process I find comfort in the things that reminded me of her. Flipping through this album and placing pictures inside. Grieving for everyone is different and hard. Sometimes you are happy and sometimes you're sad. everything doesn't feel the same anymore but choosing to find comfort in the memories that remain provides a sense of solace. Taking on this performance I had to hold back tears and relish in joyous moments as I flipped and arranged the album. I just wanted this piece to show right now, in life, just how Marina Abramovic wanted her works to be represented.
"Being Marina Abramović, Even When No One’s Looking" - NY Times
"Ideas come from life."
What I take from this quote and Abramovic pieces are to find creativity from a place that feels true not forced. Look around and within you and portray how you feel in that moment creating pieces with intentions and feelings.
Works Cited
La Force, Thessaly. "Being Marina Abramović, Even When No One’s Looking". NY Times. 08 July 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/t-magazine/marina-abramovic.html
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