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When it comes to Ulay, many people's first reaction is
His astonishing creation with the "mother of performance art" Abramović,
Entanglement with love and hate spanning decades.
China has witnessed the end of this long-lasting love:
They each walked 2,500 kilometers on the Great Wall,
It took 3 months to walk up to each other and break up.
Ouray's famous trip to the Great Wall with Abramovich
Compared to Abramovich,
Ouray's personal story is rarely known to the public.
The pioneer of Polaroid photography, body and performance art,
Laughingly called himself "the most famous unknown artist".
"Ouray: The Immeasurable" Spurs Gallery Gallery Showroom Scene
In September 2022, two years after Ouray's death,
His first solo exhibition in Asia was finally held in Beijing.
Article 1 Visit the exhibition site at the first time,
And in-depth interview with Hana Ostan Ožbolt, Ulay's close working partner,
and her widow, Lena Pislak,
Relive this most famous love story in art history from Ouray's point of view,
And beyond love, The Wonderful Life of Ulay,
With the rich artistic property he left for the world.
Editor: Zhu Yuru
Editor-in-charge: Chen Ziwen
The two ended the trip to the Great Wall with a hug, with their 12-year relationship
In 1988, Ulay and Abramovich came to Beijing and walked 2,500 kilometers from each end of the Great Wall to each other, thus ending their 12-year relationship.
This three-month breakup journey is still regarded as the most classic and moving performance art and love story today.
As a male, Ulay represents "fire" and sets off from Jiayuguan, which is surrounded by deserts and bordered by the Gobi, to the west. Abramovich, on the other hand, stands for "water" and travels eastward from Shanhaiguan, on the shores of the Bohai Sea. After 90 days, the two finally met, without too many words, just hugging each other tightly.
As the first pair of Westerners to climb the Great Wall, no matter where they went, there was always a group of villagers behind them silently following and casting curious eyes.
Ouray was very excited about all this. "He's a guy who loves to deal with people, and along the way he uses Polaroid cameras to keep track of the people and things he meets. He later brought these precious photos back to Europe, giving European audiences the first glimpse of what China really looks like. Hana Ostan Ožbolt, director of the Ulay Foundation, said.
Ulay used Polaroid to photograph the sights along the way
In Ulay's diary at that time, he painted by hand the scenery he had seen along the way, posted the food stamps and renminbi he used, and recorded the words he heard from the villagers and the accompanying translators of Chinese poets and thinkers. He earnestly wrote in Chinese: "Love, like air, we enjoy it wherever we are." ”
"From these records, you can feel that he really has a deep connection with this land and the people here, and he is trying to get closer to Chinese culture step by step."
Diary at the time
In fact, originally Abramovich and Ulay were planning to determine each other's feelings through a trip to the Great Wall and enter into marriage. Regardless of visas and other issues, this plan was delayed for 5 years, and the relationship between the two also came to an end during this period.
"Many people have always believed that the two were still lovers when they walked the Great Wall, and it was during this period that Ulay cheated on them that led to the final breakup. This is not the case, their relationship broke down before they started hiking, and the two were always arguing wildly. But for the sake of art, they decided to do it anyway. Hana told one.
Use a camera to record people you meet in China
A journey to the Great Wall with Abramovich is reinterpreted with a paper cut with Chinese characteristics: his wife at the time, Ding Xiaosong, manipulates the paper man and finally sets the paper man on fire, suggesting the end of the relationship (Lovers, 1989)
The year after breaking up with Abramovich, Ulay married Ding Xiaosong, a translator he met after hiking on the Great Wall, and had a daughter. China has given him a steady stream of creative inspiration.
The first exhibition of "Ulay: Immeasurable Things" in Urea, Beijing Spurs Gallery
A remote link between Ulay's widow, Foundation Administrator Lena (right) and Ulay Foundation Director Hana (left)
"Coming to China for an exhibition has always been Ulay's wish when he was alive," Hana told us.
In September 2022, the second anniversary of Ouray's death, this wish has finally come true. Oura State's first solo exhibition was held at the Spurs Gallery in Beijing, bringing together his representative works from different periods, as well as a series of precious personal objects that have never been exhibited before, including a diary, to show the legendary life of this avant-garde artist in all aspects.
In his final years, he was so weak that he could only lie in bed, but he was still worried about some documents and materials that came to China to hold an exhibition. The exhibition was made possible precisely on the basis of the plans he had made during his lifetime, and what he wanted to bring to Chinese audiences," told us Lena Pislak, our widow and the foundation's administrator.
In 1943, during World War II, Ulay was born in a sanctuary in wartime Germany. His father died of a serious illness and his mother went insane. At the age of 15, he was orphaned.
"The post-war depression, coupled with the problems of his native family, he did not feel much love, care, or even warmth. This kind of growth experience has profoundly influenced his artistic creation, and he is eager to explore who he really is and where he belongs through creation," Hana said.
In the 1970s, Ouray pioneered an extremely novel approach, somewhere between photography and performance art— using Polaroid cameras to capture performances.
She/He, 1973
Shooting Polaroid photos is like a kind of performance for him, he dresses up in front of the camera, plays different roles: dresses himself up as a half-man and half-woman, takes a selfie with different outfits, and collages himself in different costumes... "You can completely become another person on the outside, experience different experiences in the social environment, and rethink your identity, the positioning of society on these identities, which fascinates him." ”
The marginalized groups of society are Ulay's most interested objects, prostitutes, transgender people, tramps, immigrants..." Together with these people who also have no sense of belonging, he tries to build bridges and provoke social attention and discussion about them, which is a way for him to resist social norms and solidify ideas. ”
This spirit of rebellion runs through his artistic creation and life. In this highly unified era controlled by the market, he still wants to be the one who does not fit in, to do something different outside the mainstream. ”
Provocation, Unlawful Contact with Works of Art, 1976
One of the most radical "rebellions" occurred in 1976. He stole Hitler's favorite painting, Karl Spitzweger's The Poor Poet, from Berlin's New State Gallery and, in pursuit of the police, eventually hung it in the living room of a poor Turkish immigrant family.
All this was recorded by another radical artist, and this man was Abramovich.
The first sight of Ouray and Abramović is quite legendary.
In 1975, Ouray watched Abramovich's performance of Lips of Thomas in the Netherlands. After the performance, Abramovich said, "Today is my birthday, let's go have a drink." Ulay was surprised, "Today is also my birthday." ”
The two men pulled out their diaries from their bags, and the pages of the day were torn off. Birthdays, linked to their bad memories of family and childhood, are the most hated days of the year. "We were like long-lost twins, body and soul tightly linked," Abramovich once recalled.
What attracts Abramovich is not only those that bear striking resemblance to her, but also the avant-garde and fearlessness in Ouray's bones. "He's different from everybody I've ever met, and his life is so exciting and experimental."
The two hit it off and began a 12-year long life and creation together. They drive a van around nomadic and live an ascetic life: at 5 a.m. they help the farmers herd their cattle in exchange for the necessary food, milk the goats, pick up mountain spring water to drink, and the perennial residence is a 1.5-meter mattress.
"When material needs are minimized, true freedom can be attained. Life is only the person you love the most, and the thing you love the most— creation, which is the most beautiful and happy time in our lives. ”
They wrote what became famous as an artistic manifesto: there is no fixed place to live, always in motion, breaking through limitations, daring to take risks, not repeating oneself, not presupposing endings... "All of this determines that their works are destined to be extraordinary," Hana said.
The Relationship in Time, 1977
Naked, moving and colliding with each other from a distance of 20 meters, one after another, until half an hour later Abramovich was knocked to the ground...
《AAA-AAA》1978
Opposing each other, gradually approaching in the continuous shouting, and finally almost roaring...
Exhale/Inhale, 1978
Stuff your noses and inhale each other's exhaled carbon dioxide until both of them fall to the floor unconscious...
Potential, 1980
"Potential" is one of the toughest performances the two have ever done. They are supported by absolute trust in each other.
Ulay holds an arrow and Abramović holds a bow, and they pull the bow full with the weight of their bodies, and the arrow points directly at Abramović's heart. If you are not careful, the arrow will come out of the string. Two microphones recorded the increasingly intense heartbeat and breathing of the two men.
Someone once asked Ulay why he didn't point to his heart, and he replied, "But her heart is also my heart." The show ended up going on for 4 minutes and 10 seconds, and it was Ulay who said he couldn't go on.
The Relationship in Time, 1977
Bright/Dark (1977).
"The reason why these works can become classics and everyone can resonate with them is because they are so extreme and intense, but they are so simple and pure. It explores one of the most fundamental things about humanity — relationships, not just between men and women, but all of us," Hana said.
"They want to amplify the conflicts and injuries that people may encounter in the relationship to the extreme, which is actually the complete opposite of the actual relationship between the two people, but they are willing to expose themselves to such situations." Only in such a situation can the fragility, the most primitive and real reactions of people be seen at a glance. ”
As his work became more famous, the relationship between the two deteriorated. Ulay later mentioned in an interview that he did not like this overly symbiotic relationship, nor did he want to become a celebrity, and he enjoyed the state of being nameless.
Night Sea Crossing, 1981-1987
From 1981 to 1987, the two performed 22 performances of "Night Sea Crossing": sitting quietly at opposite ends of a long table every day, facing each other for seven hours. "This kind of long-term, repetitive work is actually more of her style than I'm good at." Later, I couldn't help but leave first, but Abu didn't, and she chose to continue. ”
In 2010, Ouray appeared on the scene of Abramovich's MoMA solo exhibition
After the Great Wall broke up in 1988, the two did not see each other for 22 years and did not say a word. Abramović's fame grew, and he went to shows and performances all over the world, but Ulay rarely appeared in the mainstream art world.
"When I'm injured, I'm like a cat that silently retracts. But for Abu, when love is broken, it becomes hate. Ulay later recalled.
Just when everyone thought that this long-lasting love affair had ended, in 2010, Ulay appeared in the solo exhibition of Abramovich MoMA (Museum of Modern Art in New York).
Abramovich had been sitting in a sit-in for 716 hours, staring at more than 1,500 people. Her eyes were firm and silent, not moving in the slightest, while some strangers across from her burst into tears.
All this was shattered by the appearance of Ouray. When Ulay sat down opposite, Abramović reacted for a moment and then held out his hands to him, and Ulay also took her hand, and the two looked at each other and smiled, their eyes full of tears.
"This is the first time I've broken the rules when I've done a work, because you're not a casual passer-by, you've been my life." Abramovich later told Ulay.
Lena smiles and recalls the story of Ulay and Abramovich reconciling
In his later years, Ulay and Lena said that Lena made him feel at home for the first time
This short and more than one-minute confrontation has caused a sensation on the Internet, and hundreds of millions of people have been moved to tears. But what many people don't know is that Ulay was accompanied by his wife, Lena. "Ulay said before going in that if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have come at all. Their relationship was really, really bad then. Lena recalled in an interview.
It can be said that it was Lena who single-handedly improved the cold relationship between Ouray and Abramovich. When we asked how she helped the two reconcile, Lena said she "loved the story to death".
In 2015, Abramovich and Ulay went to court over copyright issues. "In court, Ulay took the initiative to greet Abu, but Abu completely ignored her."
Ouray after reconciling with Abramovich
"Coincidentally, in December of that year, Ulay and I went to a very small ashram in India, where about 30 people were there. One morning, I was going to do yoga and found Abu right in front of me. I exclaimed, 'Oh my God, how could she be here.' But soon, the two of us started chatting. ”
"Abu said to me, 'When I love it's 100% love, when I hate it's 100% hate.'" I told her, 'But maybe this time it will be different, we can do it less absolutely.' Ulay was resistant, but then he joined in, chatting and talking about the three of us became good friends. ”
Ulay and Lena arrive at Abramovich's house, where the Louisanne Museum makes a documentary for the two of them
The last summer when Ulay was in good health, he and Lena went to Abramovich's house for a month. "It's not an easy task for either of them and I'm proud of them. It's so nice to see them overcome everything they once were and regain respect and love for each other. This means a lot to Ouray. He can truly leave this world in peace and security. ”
"Love is actually a kind of love with many restrictions and conditions. And Abu were able to reconcile in the end, I think, because we really learned to love unconditionally. The best outcome of love, perhaps, is friendship. Ulay lamented in the interview.
Ulay's later works: Selfie, Whisper series, 1993 (Part 1) Invisible Opponent 2016 (Part 2)
In his later years, although Ulay suffered from cancer, he never stopped creating. He returned to the early path of exploration, using a larger-format Polaroid camera, trying to fundamentally blend photography and performance art.
At the same time, he is committed to helping young artists. "Generations of young people are most excited about being able to continue to enjoy his creations and continue to resonate with his work," Hana says.
Lena accompanies Ulay on a year-long "farewell journey", while Ulay is still undergoing chemotherapy
After being diagnosed with cancer in 2011, Ulay tried a range of treatments such as chemotherapy, Ayurvedic therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc., but perhaps the most effective was "movie therapy".
At first, the doctor told Ulay that he would only live for 3-6 months at most, and he said that he wanted to return to the important places in his life and say goodbye to each of his friends and everyone he worked with. Slovenian director Damjan Kozole documented the journey with the documentary "The Cancer Project". For Ulay, this was his last, and perhaps most important, experiment on his own body. ”
Ulay and Lena (first from left, second from left) premiere the Abramović (third from right) documentary
"Everything that happened was very moving. I remember the first 3 days before we went to the premiere of the Abu documentary, and he had just undergone a chemotherapy. But he was always so cheerful, optimistic, brave, and full of life that you can't imagine what was going through him. I think that's why he miraculously lived another 10 years in the end. When she told this story to one, Lena choked up a little, and her eyes flashed with nostalgia for Ouray.
Talking about Ulay's experience in the last years of her life, Hana had similar feelings. The last time he performed, despite being in a wheelchair and suffering greatly, he decided to go to London to complete it. Later, he could only recuperate in bed, but every time we went to see him at his house, he was still full of humor. ”
"He's the kind of guy who never gives up or compromises."
Ouray's last work, The Untouchable Selfie, 2016
In March 2020, Ulay passed away, leaving the world with a number of important works of different styles, media and techniques.
"Ulay always described himself as a 'jumping' person. Other artists hope that they can have a representative style and technique, and will maintain this image for the sake of the market and the public. But Ulay's ambitions were the opposite, and every time he wanted to do something he had never done before. Once he thought he had poured out all he had, he began the next challenge without hesitation. ”
"For Ouray, life is about change. Always do groundbreaking things, keep pushing boundaries, go one step further, and enjoy it. ”
Photo credits to the Ouray Foundation, Spurs Gallery, Lena, Marina Abramovich Archives, LIMA
The copyright of the work is owned by the artist