Marina Abramović

Totalling 496 pages, the tome presents a deeply personal document. Narrating her early life as a child in former Yugoslavia, to her psychological (and physical) journey to become one of the world’s most important figures in contemporary performance art. Conceived and written with author Katya Tylevich, the publication presents unseen imagery taken from personal archives – accompanied by a transcripted dialogue between Katya and Marina.

HS was commissioned to design this special book. Working closely with artist, author and publisher the final publication is a powerful testament of collaborative endeavour.

Our design approach was structured around three tiers of information; written dialogue, imagery and quotations. A special black ink was printed throughout – eschewing the conventional white page, to allow imagery and words to shimmer in the void, like projected images on a silver screen. Other stills appear full bleed and, on occasions, magnified and grainy. Larger words and anecdotes are used to punctuate the narrative and juxtapose – like film titles. This cinematic approach frames Marina’s extraordinary life story as we travel through time, across continents and through a spectrum of profound self-reflection.

The book was published in two editions, initially the standard edition in red, a year later, the deluxe edition was released. Individually signed and numbered by Abramović. The limited edition was housed in a bespoke pink clamshell box, bound in black leather and featured a limited edition print of new artwork by Marina.