Abramovic/Ulay's Body Art Performances which are documented on video not only marked the beginning of their close partnership and collaboration but show the essence, as it were, of their artistic expression in the confrontation of extreme and borderline experiences – and in transcending them. At the core of their Performances was experience, enduring situations or actions that were designed to be open-ended, i.e. until both of them were able to withstand the situation. In so doing, they usually reached the limits of their physical strength. The confrontation between Abramovic/Ulay and their direct contact with each other served as an example for various aspects of female and male relations and their attitudes towards each other. The concentration on their bodies and the confrontation of the two persons released an enormous amount of energy that made the Performance into a whole. In many cases, their Body Art experiences also spread to the public whose impressions and reactions were integrated into the actions or were at least challenged (example: Imponderabilia). But there were also works that were purely directed at personal first steps towards physical closeness between the two and at their attitudes (examples: Relation in Space, Talking about Similarity).

The special, close sexual relationship also left its symbiotic traces in the artistic activity although both artists – as confirmed in an interview in 1997 – were totally absorbed in their "performance body", with a special attitude, spiritual and physical attention and transparency towards their open, moving work of art. Mobility as a way of life was important to them at the time, and in this sense, their Performances are relating to them in a very direct and personal manner but they can also be put in a fundamental, general context because these extreme experiences that people usually do not brave were acted out by Abramovic/Ulay to the end.

Art as a dynamic exchange, confrontation, the accent on endless movement, the relation to space and time, vulnerability, happiness and risk represent fundamental experiences both of the individual with himself and his counterpart and with the social ambience. An important factor in the Performances is their spontaneity and therefore there are neither prior rehearsals nor repetitions of anything that has been acted out and experienced. These essential aspects were presented with great freshness by the duo of artists who generally performed naked and vulnerable. Another important element is whether the live actions take place in a given space or in one of their own choice.

A statement about their work: "At the beginning of our Relation Work, we considered vitality as an energy for physical motion, with the effort to direct movement towards physical limitations. Our approach to concrete physical matter changed gradually by the influence of our executed vital work. Now we consider vitality as an energy of sensitivity for inner and outer dialogues. Such a dialogue depends on the speed of sensitivity. This movement gives to us a greater opportunity towards the opening."

Lilian Haberer