Marco Anelli

Italy (1968)
Biennale Images Vevey
2022
Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović

In 2010, Marina Abramović spent three months performing The Artist is Present in the heart of the MoMA in New York. This Serbian artist invited members of the public to sit at a distance from her, facing her in silence and always maintaining eye contact. While each spectator sat there, whether for a few minutes or for over six hours, photographer Marco Anelli used a telephoto lens to take close-up pictures. Their faces were full of emotion, whether they laughed, cried, or felt self-conscious. During the 75-day performance, he took 1545 portraits of the participants, from anonymous volunteers to celebrities such as Lou Reed, Björk, Andres Serrano and Ulay, whom Marina Abramović had not seen over the twenty-two years since their separation.

As a daily observer and invisible witness, with Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović Marco Anelli revealed the intensely human commitment to this collective experience.

The original scenography by Images Vevey and the artist takes place in a square space in the Musée historique de Vevey, reminiscent of the MoMA atrium in which Marina Abramović’s performance was held in 2010. It dialogues with the video The Lovers, The Great Wall Walk of Marina Abramović & Ulay.