Ulay (Solingen, Germany, 1943 - Ljubljana, Slovenia, 02.03.2020). Frank Uwe Laysiepen trained as a photographer and, between 1968 and 1971, worked hard as a consultant for Polaroid. Between 1968 and 1976, he undertook a thematic search to understand the notions of identity and the body both at personal and community level, mainly through series of Polaroid photographs, aphorisms and intimate actions.
From 1976 to 1988 he collaborated with Marina Abramovic in numerous performances. His work focused on questioning the perceived male and female traits and pushing the physical limits of the body.
After his break with Abramovic - who staged in a performance in which each one began to travel the Chinese wall from a point to their meeting, where the break took place -, Ulay focused on photography.
Her reunion rose to fame in 2010, during a work at the MoMA in New York in which Abramovic sat in a chair in a gallery for eight hours a day for attendees to sit in front of her and look her in the eye . When Ulay unexpectedly took a seat, he began to cry and leaned down to grab his hands. That video of the meeting was watched by millions of people on YouTube.
He leaves behind a Foundation in Amsterdam and a project space in Ljubljana, both of which he founded in November of 2020 on the occasion of his 76th birthday. A major retrospective of his work is also due to open at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in November 2020.
From 1976 to 1988 he collaborated with Marina Abramovic in numerous performances. His work focused on questioning the perceived male and female traits and pushing the physical limits of the body.
After his break with Abramovic - who staged in a performance in which each one began to travel the Chinese wall from a point to their meeting, where the break took place -, Ulay focused on photography.
Her reunion rose to fame in 2010, during a work at the MoMA in New York in which Abramovic sat in a chair in a gallery for eight hours a day for attendees to sit in front of her and look her in the eye . When Ulay unexpectedly took a seat, he began to cry and leaned down to grab his hands. That video of the meeting was watched by millions of people on YouTube.
He leaves behind a Foundation in Amsterdam and a project space in Ljubljana, both of which he founded in November of 2020 on the occasion of his 76th birthday. A major retrospective of his work is also due to open at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in November 2020.
