4me4you stepped inside the Saatchi Yates Gallery to a stunning exhibition that reinterprets two of Marina Abramović’s most iconic video works, Blue Period and Red Period.
The exhibition draws an intriguing parallel between Abramović’s Blue Period and Red Period and the famous colour-themed periods of Picasso and Matisse.
While those artists used colour to reflect emotional phases of their own lives, Abramović extends this tradition into the realm of physicality and the body. Her work is not just about colour, it’s about the profound psychological and emotional states that colour can evoke, using the body as a medium for intense personal expression.
Red Period and Blue Period are more than visual performances; they are emotional terrains where colour becomes a language of its own, one that communicates the rawness of the human condition.
In Red Period, Abramović is engulfed in a deep red hue, her face a striking focal point.
The close-up shots reveal a range of emotions as her expression shifts from seductive to confrontational, culminating in a fragmentary glimpse that leaves the viewer questioning what has been revealed and what remains hidden.
Red, as a colour, carries layers of meaning, symbolising energy, vitality, sensuality, and even danger. Abramović’s gestures, whether rubbing her face, pulling her hair, or biting her pinkie, deepen the emotional resonance of the piece, exploring themes of vulnerability, control, and exhaustion.
In contrast, Blue Period presents a cooler, more isolated emotional landscape. Here, Abramović is drenched in blue, her every action—biting her fingernails and glancing between apathy and suffering—becoming an evocative performance of emotional withdrawal and distress.
The repetitive action and the cold, detached blue filter create a feeling of distance and alienation, drawing the viewer into a space of emotional isolation.
The stark contrast between the intense physicality of her movements and the muted, oppressive atmosphere of blue makes this piece a powerful meditation on pain, loneliness, and the search for transcendence.
This exhibition is also a rare opportunity to acquire each of the 1,200 photographs that make up the new iteration of Abramović’s work.
Although part of a broader narrative, each photograph stands alone as a unique moment, offering its own insight into the emotional and physical journey Abramović undertakes.
For those familiar with Abramović’s ground-breaking performance art, this collection provides a new way to engage with her art, inviting reflection on the interplay of time, space, and human emotion.
By reimagining these iconic works as photographic stills, Saatchi Yates Gallery fosters a unique dialogue between the past and the present, offering visitors a fresh perspective on Abramović’s pioneering exploration of the body’s boundaries and the intense emotions that shape our experiences.
Artist: Marina Abramović
