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Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic

Marina Abramović's exhibition at Berlin's Gropis Bau focuses on her ongoing interest in rituals, eroticism, death, and the body as a site of political resistance.

Marina Abramović, Women Massaging Breasts II aus der Serie Balkan Erotic Epic, C-Print, 2005, Serbien

– Marina Abramović, Women Massaging Breasts II aus der Serie Balkan Erotic Epic, C-Print, 2005, Serbien

© Marina Abramović. Courtesy der Marina Abramović Archives

Marina Abramović, one of the most influential performance artists to date, will present “Balkan Erotic Epic” in spring 2026.

Women beat their upper bodies and massage their breasts while a naked body and a skeleton lie tightly entwined: Based on the folklore of the Balkans—the region where Abramović grew up—Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition interweaves cinematic and sculptural installations with live performances. In it, Abramović explores eroticism as a bridge between life and death, connecting the self and the cosmos. Her performances are thus not only acts of personal endurance, but also transformed rituals. The erotic body becomes a vehicle for spiritual, political, and ecological meaning.

Since 2005, the artist has been working on the extensive project *Balkan Erotic Epic*, after which the exhibition is named. For this project, she originally shot a series of videos featuring porn actors and actresses in Serbia. The work is inspired by regional folk tales and songs; the rituals passed down in them are based on the belief that human sexual organs and bodily fluids can have a positive influence on everyday life. Since the beginning of her artistic career, Abramović has been fascinated by nature-based religious rituals—especially by the idea that the human body appears in them not as a private or purely sexual object, but as a collective resource: a medium through which people collectively confront death, ensure fertility, and restore the balance of nature.

Highlight: This show is one of the top exhibitions 2026 in Berlin.

Runtime: Wed, 15/04/2026 to Sun, 23/08/2026

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