Terra Comunal – Marina Abramović + MAI

This is the most extensive retrospective of Marina Abramović (b. 1946, Belgrade) to take place in Latin America and the most comprehensive experiment ever developed by Abramović’s institute MAI.

Curated by Marina Abramovic and artists Paula Garcia and Lynsey Peisinger, Terra Comunal – MAI is the Institute’s most ambitious undertaking to date. At SESC Pompeia, MAI is presenting the Abramovic Method; a series of talks with Abramovic; and eight Brazilian artists who will perform during the duration of the exhibition. There is also a designated space for free experimentation and collaboration where visitors will have the opportunity to explore the directions and limits of immaterial art and performance, as well as special programming that includes re-performances of Abramovic’s work by artist Andrea Boller.

The title of this exhibition, Terra Comunal, is based on Abramovic’s experiences in Brazil. In 2012, the artist went to Brazil looking for places of power: waterfalls, trees, landscapes, rivers, insects, plants, and for people with a certain energy, in tune with a larger sense of the planet and spiritual exchange. In her own words, “I mean where the sky is big and cloudy. I mean where the rain comes all at once and as soon as it starts, it stops. Where you can breathe air with full lungs.”

Terra Comunal also translates to “Common Ground” in English, and is about time and space, new forms of interaction, and reinforcing a sense of community while fostering collective consciousness through art.