A pair traversed opposite segments of China's renowned Great Wall, eventually intersecting at its center. Subsequently, they parted ways.
Abramovic began her journey at what was referred to as the "dragon's head," where the Great Wall dives into the Bohai Bay like a dragon drinking from the sea, while Ulay started his at the "tail," over 3,000 miles away in the Gobi Desert. They initially planned to meet and get married in the middle, but due to the lengthy process of obtaining permission from Chinese authorities, their relationship, which had gained global fame as a performance art duo, had deteriorated by the time it was granted, resulting in infidelity, jealousy, and a failed threesome. Despite the breakdown of their relationship, neither artist was ready to abandon the project and in March 1988, they embarked on their respective journeys.
"We both decided that we have to address new circumstances, which means our separation... (We would) say goodbye," Abramovic told CNN in a video call from the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai, where she was opening her first ever museum exhibition in China. "Great love," she added, encompasses everything: "Love, hate, disappointment, and forgiveness. We explore all of it."
The 77-year-old Serbian artist's new exhibition, "Marina Abramovic: Transforming Energy," includes interactive artworks inspired by the Great Wall journey, as well as over 1,200 never-before-seen images taken along the way.
The photos, which will be projected onto the museum's walls, are divided into four categories: the preparation and beginning of the walk, encounters with locals, walking the wall and meeting Ulay, and staged experiments and landscapes.
Curator and MAM's artistic director Shai Baitel was "blown away" by the trove of unpublished film negatives Abramovic held in storage. "It is a treasure for a curator, for anyone that is in the business of art, or art history research, (to) document (what has) not been digitized yet but exists there in large quantities."
Abramovic is shown traversing through some of the most stunning, wild parts of the wall against a backdrop of mountains, crumbling ruins, and varied terrain. The sense of isolation provided space for contemplation and reflection, she said.
"I was a woman, walking alone... without a husband, without children, not speaking the language," she recalled. "What am I doing there?"
Since planning the exhibition and going through her photo archive, the artist has been flooded with memories of the support and hospitality she experienced along the way. "Local people were always giving more food... But I couldn't carry it all. I was given goose eggs, but they are so big, so I would have one in my left pocket and one in my right pocket, to keep balance."
Abramovic was prohibited from camping on the wall, so she instead stayed in small villages along the way. In each one, she would try to meet the oldest resident -- some well into their 100s -- and through a translator who accompanied her, ask them to share their stories about the wall.
The Great Wall, which stretches across northern China, was built to keep out invaders, but for the locals Abramovic spoke to, its winding shape was less about military history and more to do with an earthly representation of dragons and the Milky Way, she said. The quest became as much spiritual as it was physical.
"I realized the old stories are related directly to the minerals that I had been walking on," the artist said at a press conference in Shanghai. "If I was walking on a 'black dragon' that would be on (iron-rich) hematite... a 'red dragon' would be clay, it was completely different ground," she added, explaining that as she walked on various minerals and crystals, she was able to feel different "energies."
The artist's expansive Shanghai exhibition offers visitors a chance to hold crystal-based objects, a reference to this aspect of her Great Wall journey. The three-floor show also features "durational" installations -- like a custom-built metronome that only takes a beat every 24 seconds, and an interactive artwork that invites visitors to repeatedly, and very slowly, open and close a door without entering or exiting.
"The works are all contemplative and (are intended) to bring you to another state of mind, and to lift your spirit in a certain way," Abramovic told CNN, adding that she is also challenging the way people experience art in the digital age. "It’s so much about technological detox. We never spend time with anything, with ourselves. We are going to immediately take a photograph or something before we even experience what it is, and then go home and look at it."
Three months after they set off, the pair's paths finally crossed at Shenmu in Shaanxi province. According to Abramovic, Ulay had found an "unbelievable, meaningful" spot located between two temples and waited for her there. It would take Abramovic an additional three days to reach him.
"I wanted to kill him," she joked. "For me... I absolutely dedicated myself to this concept... you meet in the exact middle, no matter if it is a better photogenic spot or not."
Following the hug, the duo went their separate ways (with Abramovic finding out that Ulay had conceived a child with his Chinese interpreter during their journey), and they didn't cross paths again for a staggering 22 years. This all changed in 2010, when Ulay astonished Abramovic at the Museum of Modern Art in New York during her performance "The Artist is Present," where she sat in front of visitors, engaging with them one at a time in silent contemplation.
Recalling the incident, she mentioned, "I had no idea he was going to join me. The entirety of my life appeared before my eyes, and I began to cry. It was a very intense moment." Bending her own rule, she extended her hand across the table, reaching out to Ulay in an emotional reunion that quickly became a viral sensation.
Their story didn't end there; six years later, Ulay filed a legal suit against Abramovic for their shared collaborations. Yet, despite his passing in 2020, their relationship managed to conclude amicably: In an unforeseen twist, the former lovers both found themselves at a quiet meditation retreat in India.
"You know, the universe has its own peculiar ways," Abramovic stated, explaining how they finally found the opportunity to truly forgiving each other at this secluded location.
"He's no longer with us; I miss him dearly, as it would have been remarkable if he was here to celebrate this exhibition and remind us of that legendary piece of work."
"Marina Abramović: Shifting Energy" is on display at MAM Shanghai until February 28, 2025.
In discussing her latest exhibition at the Modern Art Museum Shanghai, Abramovic highlighted the role of the Great Wall journey in her art, stating, "The journey itself was a spiritual quest, a exploration of different energies through the minerals and crystals beneath my feet."
Reflecting on her time walking the Great Wall alone, Abramovic once said, "The style of my art has always been about pushings boundaries, exploring new territories, and this journey was no exception - even if it meant a personal exploration of my own style within the arts."
