"Stromboli Pieta" (2006) by Marina Abramović

"Stromboli Pieta" (2006) by Marina Abramović, framed chromogenic print, 180 x 150 cm, edition of 7 plus 2 APs

Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the active volcanoes in Italy. Abramović has a house there. A pietà (Italian for compassion) is an artwork depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ.

"Stromboli is the last permanently active volcano in Europe," she said, leaning forward intently with her dark eyes flashing. "Every 20 minutes, it's shooting out lava. Every 20 minutes. Black sand. Black beach. Everything black. It's fantastic." (source)

Photo courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery.

Also see another post on Marina Abramović.

Two works by Marina Abramović

Marina Abramović, Selfportrait with Skull (2004), Black and white photograph, edition of 3, h: 60 x w: 50 cm

Marina Abramović, Balkan Erotic Epic (detail) (2005), video projection

Marina Abramović (born 30 November 1946, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia) is a performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” This assertion has been neither disputed nor challenged. Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. (source)

In her latest work, Balkan Erotic Epic, Abramovic creates new, surprising perspectives on archaic rituals that used erotic powers to influence fate and fortune. These powerful images talk to us about the disavowal of ancient practices, and about something buried deep in our consciousness.