Revered as the mother of performance art, Marina Abramovic, even at the age of 75, continues to be active in the art world, leaving behind inspiring and thought-provoking art projects around the world. Recently, she posted a video on social media regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, urging Russia to stop violence and war.
Marina was born in a background of Yugoslavia, experienced World War II and the Soviet era, and therefore deeply understands the great pain that war brings to civilians. She stated in the short film that she worked in Ukraine last year, where the people she met were “proud, strong, and dignified.” In these impossible days, she was completely united with the local people. She said firmly, “An attack on Ukraine is an attack on all of us, an attack on humanity, and it must stop!”
Actually, Marina visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv last October and created a giant interactive installation called “The Crystal Wall of Crying” to commemorate the Jewish people who died in a massacre during World War II. In September 1941, the Nazi army shot nearly 30,000 Jewish men, women, and children in the lush Babyn Yar ravine, with a total death toll of 200,000, becoming an indelible memory in human history of war.
“The Weeping Crystal Wall” is 40 meters long and 3 meters high, made of smokeless coal from Ukrainian mines and 75 quartz crystals. Visitors are invited to interact with the crystals and meditate. Marina extends the symbolism of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, describing this artwork as the “Wall of Healing.”
This wall creates a special space where everyone can reflect, remember, and contemplate past tragic events, and come to personal realizations. Through the interaction with natural quartz crystals, the artist aims to reestablish a connection with personal bodily experiences to heal past traumas.
A group of people silently walked towards this independent thick wall made of coal, stopping to touch the large pieces of quartz crystals protruding from the wall, feeling the crystal energy while reminiscing about this historical trauma. Marina expressed that this work is not just about recalling pain, but about hoping the wall can bring forgiveness. Visitors can settle their thoughts, forgive the past, and then start anew during the process.
Learn more and image source: Marina Abramovic Institute
