How an Artist’s Shocking Six-Hour Experiment with Audience Control Changed Her Life Forever

Imagine handing over the keys to your body—and letting a crowd run wild with them for six straight hours. Sounds like a daredevil’s nightmare, right? Well, that’s exactly what Marina Abramović did back in 1974, leaving onlookers both horrified and mesmerized. This Serbian powerhouse didn’t just push boundaries; she bulldozed right through them, transforming pain and vulnerability into unforgettable performance art. Over five decades later, Abramović remains one of the most daring and boundary-breaking figures in the art world. Curious to find out what really went down during that infamous stunt and how it shaped her revolutionary career? Let’s dig in and get the full story. LEARN MORE.

An artist who has a unique way of confronting pain once let spectators do anything they wanted to her body for six hours straight.

Marina Abramović is a well-known figure in the performance art community after her shocking stunt 51 years ago.

The Serbian creative has gone on to perform numerous displays of iconic art and is considered to be one of the most pioneering performance artists of all time.

But what exactly happened to her? Let’s dive in…

The Serbian artist had little boundaries when it came to her work (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Who is Marina Abramović?

Abramović was born to Montenegrin parents in Belgrade in 1946, which was then part of Yugoslavia.

As reported by The Guardian, the performer’s parents fought for the communist partisans during WWII and became national heroes.

She said: “The brother of my grandfather was the patriarch of the Orthodox Church and revered as a saint.

“So everything in my childhood is about total sacrifice, whether to religion or to communism. This is what is engraved on me. This is why I have this insane willpower.”

To escape from her strict upbringing, she would paint regularly until one of her father’s artist friends demonstrated a technique which would involve setting fire to a painted canvas. It appeared to leave a profound impression on her as she then enrolled at Belgrade’s Academy of Fine Arts.

Marina Abramović’s ‘Rhythm 0’ in 1974 allowed members of the public to do what they wanted to her body for six hours (YouTube/Marina Abramović Institute)

What was Rhythm 0?

Abramović’s 1974 performance of ‘Rhythm 0’ is one of the most shocking displays of art you’ll see.

The performance saw the artist give members of the public free rein over her body for six hours.

Spectators had 72 objects to choose from and use on her in any way they wanted. From flowers, perfume and apples, to razors and knives were available for the public to use.

As the exhibition progressed through the six hours, Marina had been stripped of her clothes and her skin was slashed.

Someone even held a loaded gun to her head, and put the artist’s finger on the trigger.

Abramović became a well-known figure in the performance art community (YouTube/Marina Abramović Institute)

What happened to Marina Abramović ?

Since Rhythm 0, Abramović went from strength to strength and developed into, arguably, the greatest performance artist of all-time.

A few years later in 1977, she did ‘Imponderabilia’, which had viewers squeeze between their naked bodies to enter a gallery.

Then in 1997, she performed the ‘Balkan Baroque’, a protest against war, that involved her scrubbing bloody cow bones for days.

She later re-performed Vito Acconci’s ‘Seedbed’ in 2005 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, where she masturbated underneath a stage.

At the time, she told New York Art that she had nine orgasms during her recreation of Seedbed.

She said: “Having orgasms publicly, being excited by the visitors steps above me – it’s really not easy, I tell you! I’ve never concentrated so hard in my life.

“The problem for me, with this piece, was the absence of public gaze: only the sound. But I heard that people had a great time; it was like a big party up there! I ended with nine orgasms. It was terrible for the next piece – I was so exhausted!”

The artist is now 78-years-old (YouTube/WeTransfer)

When is Marina Abramović’s next performance?

Abramović, who is now 78, is set to debut her most ambitious work to date, ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’, at Aviva Studios in Manchester in October.

The production is also scheduled for international tours in Barcelona, Berlin, New York, and Hong Kong.

“Balkan Erotic Epic is the most ambitious work in my career,” she said, according to The Guardian. “This gives me a chance to go back to my Slavic roots and culture, look back to ancient rituals and deal with sexuality in relation to the universe and the unanswered questions of our existence.

“Through this project I would like to show poetry, desperation, pain, hope, suffering and reflect our own mortality.”