Visitors to London’s Royal Academy need to squeeze between a pair of nude performers to see new show

Visitors to an upcoming Royal Academy of Arts exhibition will find their way blocked by two nude performance artists, a man and a woman.

It is only by squeezing themselves through the gap in the middle that those brave enough will gain access to the imminent Marina Abramović exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.
The performance, called Imponderabilia, forces a “confrontation between nakedness, and the gender, the sexuality, the desire,” said Andrea Tarsia, the Royal Academy’s head of exhibitions.

She told The Observer: “For that, we have a doctor, we have a psychologist, we have a psychologist, we have a nutritionist standing by.

“All the stuff I never had when I did it. But they are great performers, people that I trust.”
The 76-year-old Serbian artist had previously carried out these performances herself.
For this run she has enlisted a 42-strong team of “re-performers”, many of whom are graduates trained in her method at her institute in New York.
Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder for the event, organisers said.
ID checks will be carried out at the door and all visitors are informed in an email beforehand that photography or filming of the live performances is banned.

Gallery staff will be on standby to protect the performance artists from any unwanted touching or inappropriate behaviour.
A spokesman for the Royal Academy of Arts said safety and welfare was their top priority.
“Performance artists will always be escorted and safeguarded by a fellow performer (facilitator) to and from their position in the galleries and a dedicated production manager will manage the schedules and safeguarding,” he said.
At a 2010 showing of Imponderabilia at New York’s Museum of Modern Art several visitors were thrown out for groping the performers.

First for a female artist
Abramović is the first female artist in the 255-year history of the Royal Academy to be given the run of the main galleries for the exhibition.