A new art exhibit at the Royal Academy exhibition allows people to squeeze through two naked models to enter.
The unclothed entryway is a reference to the career of Marina Abramović, a Serbian performance artist, BBC reported. For visitors who are uncomfortable with walking between two naked bodies, there is reportedly an alternative entrance they can use.
The purpose of entering the exhibit between two naked models is to force a “confrontation between nakedness, and the gender, the sexuality, the desire,” Andrea Tarsia, the Royal Academy’s head of exhibitions, said, according to the BBC.
Visitors to new art exhibition must squeeze between nude models to enter https://t.co/iORqb9tQsX
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 20, 2023
Abramović and her then partner, Ulay, reportedly first presented the piece in 1977, when the two nude models formed a doorway themselves, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Boxer’s Plan To Flash Crowd Goes Off The Rails)
Critics had mixed reactions to the revealing retrospective.
The Telegraph’s Thomas Alastair Sooke issued a two-star review, stating, “Is there a more egregious case of an artist, over the decades, losing their way?” per the BBC.
However, The Evening Standard’s Ben Luke rated it four stars, saying he “can’t imagine a better display” and that the staging as seen “on film and in photographs is exemplary.”
The Guardian’s Adrian Searle gave the artwork a four-star rating, calling it “terrifying and vital.”
The Times’ Laura Freeman issued a two-star rating to the piece, saying it had “two principal problems,” being “stylishly presented but unsatisfactory retrospective.”
Abramović is the first female artist in the Royal Academy’s 255-year history to have a solo exhibition at its principal galleries, the outlet reported. The retrospective reflects the artist’s half-century career.