Marina Abramović prides herself on being punctual— after all, she is a woman who has made a career out of time as an artistic medium. So, when she still hasn’t appeared, 20 minutes after our interview was due to start, I begin to wonder if there has been a mix-up over the venue, a new super-luxe hotel in the heart of Mayfair teaming with slightly nervous front-of-house staff. Seconds later, Abramović glides into the hotel lobby, chicly but comfortably dressed head-to-toe in black, and ushers me into a lift. “I thought we were meeting in my room!” she exclaims warmly. “I’m never late, I’m from a communist country! You must have thought I was being a diva.”
If not a diva, then Serbian-born Abramović — who will be 80 next year — is certainly a grand dame. In 2023, she became the first woman to have a solo show at the Royal Academy and next year, during the Venice Biennale, she will be the first living woman to have an exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Her epic performances have ranged from spending 90 days walking the Great Wall of China to end her relationship with German artist Ulay, her long-time collaborator and partner, to spending six hours allowing an audience to use chains, lipstick and knives on her body. At one point a loaded gun was held to her head. “I just wanted to know if the public could kill you,” she says. “The answer is yes.”
