On 6 December 2007 Poppe re-enacted ‘Lips of Thomas’, Marina Abramović’s iconic performance dating back to 1975).
This project took place behind closed doors in the frame of a Master of Arts-research project.
Poppe’s intentions were not to claim this work as his own — on the contrary: full credits were given to the artist and re-enacting was considered ‘an exercise in historic reconstruction’ and ‘a respectful tribute’ to M. Abramović.
Location: theatre stage @ Troubleyn / Laboratorium (Antwerp, BE) — photos: Bart Grietens
Abramović:
“I slowly eat 1 kilo of honey with a silver spoon.
I slowly drink 1 liter of red wine out of a crystal glass.
I break the glass with my right hand.
I cut a five-pointed star on my stomach with a razor blade.
I violently whip myself until I no longer feel any pain.
I lay down on a cross made of ice blocks.
The heat of a suspended space heater pointed at my stomach causes the cut star to bleed.
The rest of my body begins to freeze.
I remain on the ice cross for 30 minutes until the audience interrupts the piece by removing the ice blocks from underneath.”