A long Serbian face, an unmoving stare, lips that pull back more than they release, Marina Abramovic is a presence that still commands a room. Now entering her 80th year, she is often described as the “grandmother of the performance arts”, using her body as both medium and method for her career, repeatedly testing how much a human being can endure physically, psychologically and emotionally. Abramovic, whose work has been shown at the sixth Kochi-Muziris Biennale, will be in Kerala for a lecture in February. Another of his works will be presented at the India Art Fair in New Delhi by London-based gallery Saatchi Yates.
Abramovic emerged in the 1970s with confrontational works that transcended the passive role of the viewer. In cadence 0 (1974), she stood motionless for six hours while the public was invited to apply 72 objects ranging from feathers to loaded guns to her body, highlighting how quickly spectators can become complicit in violence when authority goes unchecked. In the 1980s, working with his partner Uley, the work shifted towards emotional stamina. In Lover (1988), the pair walked from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China, met in the middle and ended their relationship.
The 1990s marked a turn toward history and collective trauma. In Balkan Baroque (1997), presented at the Venice Biennale, Abramovic responded to the wars that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia by cleaning bloody cow bones while singing a folk song. By the 2010s, extremism had replaced peace. In the artist is present (2010), staged at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), she sat quietly for nearly three months, gazing at visitors who often moved to tears, anger, or quiet confession.
What is less acknowledged is how deeply his practice has been shaped by disciplines beyond Western art history. For decades, Abramovic studied Aboriginal culture in central Australia and Tibetan Buddhist practices in monasteries across India, absorbing rituals of recuperation, fasting, meditation and endurance. During an extended trip, he recorded Tibetan monks chanting lotus sutra (One of the most revered sutras of Mahayana Buddhism).
Waterfall by Marina Abramovic
| Video Credit: Rosella Stephan
In waterfall (2003), a monumental installation now on view at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, their voices and faces are layered in a continuous waterfall, creating a serene environment for those who sit in its presence. In addition, the Marina Abramovic Institute has been presenting a collection of films, paintings and performances since its establishment in 2007. Performing artists will also present Past, present and future of performing artsA lecture that reflects on his career and how performance has evolved as a form.
In an email interview ahead of her trip, Abramovic reflects on India as a spiritual teacher, and why, in what she describes as a moment of cultural exhaustion, she believes art can still point to the future. Part:
Marina Abramovic at the Serpentine Summer Party 2024 in London, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
waterfall By Marina Abramovic, a three-channel video projection, KMB 2025-26. | Photo Courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
What does India mean to you personally, artistically and spiritually?
Personally, India has been a great teacher. It has helped me understand the transience of our existence on this planet. Artistically, it has an exceptionally complex historical and cultural heritage; It is an endless source of inspiration and learning for my practice. Spiritually, India helped me connect mind and body and understand compassion, forgiveness, and the karmic cycle of life.
Do you remember your first meeting with the country?
Very clearly. My first visit to India was in 1979, when I reached Delhi. I just wanted to go to Bodhgaya immediately, where Siddhartha Gautama was [Buddha] He is believed to have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. I spent three months there.
Bodhgaya at that time was fascinating: full of temples, teachings, meditation centres, ceremonies and teachers conducting frequent seminars. In the decades following the Tibetan diaspora it was one of the major global meeting points for Buddhist practitioners from Tibet, Southeast Asia, and the West.
After that first trip, I returned to India several times, traveling and staying in monasteries throughout the country, especially in the Himalayan regions. I call these research trips. I learned through lived practice, engagement, and experience rather than faith alone.
Marina Abramovic Archives, KMB 2025-26. | Photo Courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
After more than five decades of performing, what has the body taught you about being human?
There are benefits to living a long life, you have time to gather knowledge. I learned how to live in the present, here and now. The body is the place where knowledge is gathered, not just the mind.
Performance art is often described as Western in origin. How do you see its future now?
Western culture has ended. It is important to have fresh perspectives that other cultures can bring. The show will never end. It is constantly changing, like the phoenix, burning and being reborn from its own ashes. The only thing I know for sure is that Instagram is not art.
waterfall By Marina Abramovic, a three-channel video projection, KMB 2025-26. | Photo courtesy of Marina Abramovic Archives 2000-2003
What does it mean to you to be a part of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale under the direction of Nikhil Chopra?
I met Nikhil Chopra when I was curating Marina Abramovic Presents In 2009 in Manchester. It was a major exhibition dedicated to the performance arts, bringing together artists whose practices required sustained physical and mental commitment from both artist and viewer. Nikhil presented a live performance which lasted for several days. He remained in the space for long periods of time, dressed as a character, slowly creating large charcoal self-portraits. Visitors could come and go and see the work changing from day to day. I found a talented, charismatic artist and a compelling performer. One of the main reasons I accepted this invitation is that it is being directed by someone who is an artist.
Marina Abramovic Archives, KMB 2025-26. | Photo Courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
waterfall By Marina Abramovic, a three-channel video projection, KMB 2025-26. | Photo courtesy of Marina Abramovic Archives 2000-2003
In a world that feels increasingly unstable, what role should art play today?
I don’t make any sense of the world we live in, and I don’t think anyone can really do that. Art has to become the oxygen of our lives. It nourishes our soul. Art should uplift human spirits but also ask the right questions. Some great art can even predict the future.
What advice would you give to young artists now?
Listen to your heart. Stay true to yourself. Don’t compromise for the art market. Don’t overproduce.
And finally, what keeps you hopeful?
Life is a miracle. We should live every day to the fullest and be happy to be a part of this cosmic game.
Marina Abramovic Archives, KMB 2025-26. | Photo Courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
waterfall By Marina Abramovic, a three-channel video projection, KMB 2025-26. | Photo Courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
Marina Abramovic will lecture at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale on February 10 from 6-8 pm. The venue (Fort Kochi or Willingdon Island) and ticket details will be announced soon on the Biennale website. Around 1,000 people will attend the lecture.
The interviewer specializes in reporting on art, design and architecture.