'Adapted from the Stella Prize-winning novel by Heather Rose, The Museum of Modern Love follows New York-based film composer, Arky Levin, a man struggling to live and work in the face of incredible loss.
'By chance, Arky finds his way to MoMA and sees Marina Abramović in The Artist is Present—a marathon and now-legendary feat of performance art that saw Abramović sitting silent and completely still opposite thousands of museum visitors in the spring of 2010.
'Arky returns to MoMA again and again, and encounters other viewers also drawn to the exhibit, each with their own reasons for spending hours in the presence of Abramović. As the performance unfolds, so does Arky, and with his life coming back into focus, he finally understands what he must do to move forward.
'Set against the backdrop of one of the greatest art events in modern history, and blurring the lines between spectator and artist, this transfixing new work explores dying and living, courage and commitment—and meditates on the power of art to unite and connect us, even in an increasingly disconnected world.'
Source: Seymour Centre.
Presented by the Seymour Centre and Sydney Festival as part of the Sydney Festival, 22 - 30 January 2022, Seymour Centre, Sydney (world premiere).
Director: Tim Jones.
Dramaturg and Assistant Director: Erin Taylor.
Designer: Stephen Curtis.
Lighting Designer: Alexander Berlage.
Video and Sound Designer: David Bergman.
Costume Designer: Veronique Benett.
Cast: Tara Morice, Harriet Gordon-Anderson, Julian Garner, Justin Amankwah, Sophie Gregg, Glenn Hazeldine, Aileen Huynh, and Jennifer Rani.
Ten people per performance were seated on the stage, becoming part of the crowd gathered to view the (in-work) Marina Abramović performance.
'Playing with the entangled possibilities of art, life and love.'
'When was the last time you looked at a stranger in the eyes? Really looked, for an uncomfortably long period of time, recognising something about them and yourself in the process? Probably not recently. In a pandemic world it is becoming harder – if not impossible – to connect with other people on such an intimate, vulnerable level.' (Introduction)
'When was the last time you looked at a stranger in the eyes? Really looked, for an uncomfortably long period of time, recognising something about them and yourself in the process? Probably not recently. In a pandemic world it is becoming harder – if not impossible – to connect with other people on such an intimate, vulnerable level.' (Introduction)
'Playing with the entangled possibilities of art, life and love.'