Earlier this month, Marina Abramović’s performance “Balkan Erotic Epic” premiered in Manchester. This ambitious and provocative work marks the culmination of more than half a century of the artist’s work.
Inspired by ancient Balkan rituals, the performance explores the connection between eroticism, spirituality, and collective memory, offering audiences a unique and shocking experience.
Returning to Roots
“Balkan Erotic Epic” is more than just a theatrical production; it is a profound immersion into the culture and mythology of the Balkans. Featuring over 70 performers, including dancers, musicians, and singers, the performance recreates rituals associated with fertility, death, and rebirth.
Scenes include depictions of skeletal orgies, five-metre-long phalluses, and nude mourning rituals, emphasizing the intimate and sacred nature of human sexuality.
Erotism as a Life-Force
Abramovich states that the project aims to rethink eroticism as a life-force, not as a taboo subject. She seeks to demonstrate that sexuality can be connected to spirituality and collective memory, not just the intimate sphere.
The performance includes scenes such as “Breast Massage,” in which women perform ritual actions aimed at awakening the earth, and “Fertility Dance,” in which bodies glide across the earth in search of a connection with nature.
Personal and Cultural
For Abramovich, this project represents a return to her Slavic roots and an attempt to understand her own identity through the lens of cultural traditions. She acknowledges that the performance is also a response to her personal experiences, including her strict relationship with her mother and her upbringing in socialist Yugoslavia.
These elements lend the work additional depth and personal significance. Moreover, Abramovich uses the performance to explore the tension between collective cultural memory and individual experience, highlighting how personal narratives intersect with broader historical and social contexts.
The artist also reflects on themes of resilience and survival, showing how past hardships can shape creative expression. Finally, by integrating her personal story with ritualistic and symbolic acts, Abramovich invites audiences to engage with both intimate and universal aspects of human identity.
Controversy and Reception
Like many of Abramović’s works, “Balkan Erotic Epic” provoked widespread public controversy. Some critics and audiences perceived the scenes of nudity and erotic rituals as provocative, while others saw them as a profound cultural statement. The artist herself maintains that her goal is not to shock, but to encourage viewers to reflect on the nature of human sexuality and its place in society.
Marina Abramović's "Balkan Erotic Epic" is not simply a theatrical work, but a powerful cultural statement that forces us to rethink the relationship between the body, sexuality, and spirituality. By boldly combining elements of eroticism, ritual, and personal history, Abramović creates a work that lingers in the memory and provokes profound reflection on human nature and culture.
Abramović successfully combines provocation and philosophical thought, forcing the viewer to simultaneously experience discomfort and reflect on the nature of human sexuality.
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