The Serbian conceptual artist Marina Abramovic Abramovic will attempt to silence the audience on the main stage of the Glastonbury music festival for 7 minutes this Friday as part of an artistic show. Abramovic, who tries to break the mold with her provocative art, will star in what will be her biggest participatory work so far at the popular UK festival, which opened its doors yesterday until July 1.
The artist, 77 years old, will perform at 16:55 GMT, just before the singer’s performance PJ Harvey, and will ask the 200,000 gathered at the event to remain silent for 7 minutes as a moment of reflection. “Silence is a powerful tool that allows us to contact each other in ways that words cannot,” Abramovic said of his project.
“I don’t know any visual artist who has done something like this in front of 175,000, 200,000 people. The biggest audience I’ve ever seen was 6,000 people in a stadium and I thought: this is beyond anything I’ve ever done,” he added.
The piece, called Seven Minutes of Collective Silence It is a “public intervention”, in his words, with which he hopes that those gathered at Glastonbury will reflect on the current state of the world.
“At a festival like Glastonbury, where sound and energy are in constant flux, these Seven Minutes of Collective Silence They offer a unique opportunity for unity and introspection. “It is about being present together, experiencing the power of silence as one,” the artist indicated.
Abramovic has confessed that she feels “terrified” of this challenge, which could “completely fail”, although she wants to “take the risk”. For her part, the festival organizer, Emily Eavispointed out to local media that they feel “honored to have Marina Abramovic and his meaningful and profound experience at Glastonbury.”
Source: EFE
