Marina Abramovic and James Turrell Design the Spa at the Museum of Old and New Art

The Museum of Old and New Art (MoNA) unveils a spa designed by the contemporary artists Marina Abramovic and James Turrell.

Photo: Museum of New and Old Art. At mona.net.aut

The Museum of Old and New Art (MoNA), created by David Walsh in Hobbart (Tasmania), adds a new installation to its bizarre structure: a spa designed by the contemporary artists Marina Abramovic and James Turrell. The museum, located underground, now offers the chance to immerse oneself fully in contemporary art in pursuit of organic and spiritual healing. This is not the first time Abramovic has designed a space of this kind: the artist has conceived an urban spa for her own personal use, which she will build in her Manhattan mansion in 2019. On this occasion she has collaborated with James Turrell, the “guru of light and space,” to create a unique experience inspired by the work of both artists.

Trailer for the documentary Marina Abramovic – The Artist Is Present (2012)

A reporter from the prestigious online magazine Vice was invited to experience the treatment firsthand, accompanied by its creators. During the visit, the journalist and Marina Abramovic re-enacted the artist’s famous performance The Artist Is Present, holding each other’s gaze while submerged in a clawfoot tub. The treatment continued with a session of phototherapy (provided by J. Turrell’s work Raethro Pink), an immersion in a cold-water tank, a process of meditation through performance, a walk along a path lit with VR technology, and the finishing touch: the contemplation of the sky through one of Turrell’s celebrated Skyscapes. The concept of the spa is transformed into an artistic installation in this pioneering project, which seeks to bring art to life (and life to art) through a complete sensory immersion.

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