Conical, pointy hats – the kind witches might wear – abound in “Energy Clothes”, Marina Abramović’s solo show curated by Sydney Fishman. Crafted from canary-yellow or cherry-red silk, these items rest on pedestals or perch on the artist’s own head in the large-format digital pigment prints. Energy Hat (Eyes Open), 2021/2022, and Energy Hat (eyes closed), 2021/2022. Abramovic developed the idea of ”Energy Clothes” while teaching at the Fondazione Antonio Ratti in Como, Italy. Continuing her research on energy and its transmission, she designed an assortment of objects such as hats, masks and bands, which she coupled with magnets as energy sources. In another series of photographs in the exhibition, she sought to channel these forces by carrying out mundane activities such as watering plants (in energy hat [Gardening])2001/2023), lying in a bathtub (energy hat [Lying]2001/2023), or even sitting on the pot (energy hat [Sitting], 2001/2023), while wearing an incredibly elongated hat. This awakening and channeling of energies to achieve heightened awareness seems to borrow from Indian yogic practices. The project is in line with “Transitory Objects for Human Use”, 1989-, a work in progress in which she fashions objects from specific materials in the belief that they transmit energies to the user.
This exhibition is complemented by a selection of images from the artist’s early performances, including Rhythm 10, which was first staged in Rome in 1973. Abramović’s durational performance pushed physical and mental boundaries with an intensity that can be felt in the lines she used to describe the work: “I take the first knife and stab it between the fingers of my left hand as fast as I can.” Every time I cut myself, I change my knife. These words still possess the ability to hit you in the solar plexus.
