Static black and white images show a close up of Marina Abramovic laying on the shores of the sea, facing the sky. Her eyes are closed and the ocean waves intermittently flow under the arch of her neck and soak her. She remains silent and motionless with the roar of the waves crashing onto her, her head moving in response to the waves. The last wave, before fading out, drowns her for a short moment and, by changing the position of her head, she suddenly reacts to the rising ebb and flow of the tides in an active way. The work is named after an island south of Sicily that is the only permanently active volcano in Europe and has experienced small eruptions approximately every 15 minutes for the last 2000 years. The work, like many others, demonstrates part of A…ramovic's concern with the ritualised actions of everyday life, like lying, sitting, dreaming and thinking - in effect manifestations of a mental state that is associated with a strong sense of abandon. This also correlates with the way she subordinates herself to outside forces or 'eruptions' which start to control her body, a method that is frequently applied in her work. Stromboli was exhibited along with Abramovic's recent performance/installation 'The House With The Ocean View', in which she lived in a gallery space for 12 days without eating, reading, writing or doing anything else. The video is also part of the 16-channel installation 'Video Portrait Gallery' (Abramovic 1975-2002). Read more...