Marina Abramovic and Ulay Relation Work

Marina Abramovic/Ulay- Relation Work, 1976-1979: 14 Performances

In 1976 Abramovic and Ulay started to collaborate together as artists. Through performance, the two artists explored issues such as gender roles and the opposition inherent in the male and female body. The two artists created performances that put their physical and psychic selves to the extreme. Video was used as a medium to recollect all these performances. In the performance “Light and Dark” the two artists hit each other on the cheek, using a rhythmic action, in which the intensity of the hits increased. They used light as a way to hide the source of the aggravation so that they weren’t able to see the hit coming. With this performance the two artists were addressing issues like violence in relationships.