The Artist Is Unpresent

with Jonny-Bix Bongers
single chanel video, continious loop.

The projects aims to reframe Marina Abramovic's famous performance in an CGI reenactment, focusing on the role of art in an increasingly digitalised world. Physical presence in digital space no longer exists: Virtual objects are merely references to existing entities. The digital turn is thus not only followed by the question of materiality, but also whether the role of artists in general needs to be renegotiated.

In 2010, Marina Abramovic shows the performance "The Artist is Present" at MOMA. On two chairs facing each other, she invites museum visitors to hold her gaze for an indefinite period of time. The work questions the relationship between the artist and her audience. Abramovic's presence becomes a resistant rebellion against the voyeuristic view of art by putting herself and her presence on display.

In 2022, "The Artist Is Unpresent" tries to update the performance and questions it with regard to digital art.