When Serbian artist Marina Abramović set up a live exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art – she had no clue that it would lead to an emotional reunion she’d never forget.
The footage captured at the event has left many people needing tissues. It’s powerful, deep, and pulls at your heartstrings – all taking place in the course of a minute.
Marina Abramović met a fellow performance artist named Ulay in the 1970s when she was residing in Amsterdam. The two fell passionately in love and began collaborating together.
The couple lived in a van, which they performed their art out of. But as we know sometimes relationships don’t always last.
For Marina and Ulay’s last farewell, they each started at opposite ends of the Great Wall of China. They then walked until they met in the middle for a final goodbye. It was a performance piece they titled, “The Lovers.”
Years later Marina Abramović put on a live art performance called, “The Artist is Present.”
The exhibit consisted of Marina sitting alone at a table at the museum. One at a time, strangers would walk up and be allowed one minute to sit face to face with the artist – in complete silence.
On opening night, people took turns visiting with Marina for one minute each. Not a word was said the entire time.
It had been more than two decades since Marina had seen her ex-love Ulay. As she sat at the table, she had no clue they were about to be reunited…
In the video, Marina is wearing a long red gown and has her eyes shut as she waits for the next “stranger” to arrive.
Ulay walks up as the next participant and takes a seat right in front of her. When Marina opens her eyes, a smile immediately escapes her lips. It must have been a stunning surprise seeing Ulay after so many years.
Marina’s eyes well up with tears looking at her ex-lover, and eventually, they begin to fall down her cheeks.
Although the pair’s unable to speak, all of their emotions are written on their faces. The scene is unbelievably moving and hits you right in the heart.
One viewer wrote:
“Ive watched this soo many times and everytime I do I ball my eyes out… I love it, the way they look at each other, just everything about it..”
Another person commented:
“They’re having an entire conversation with just their eyes. This will always be one of my favorite things ever. They’re still so in love after all this time”
As they get closer to the end of their minute, Marina decides not to hold back any longer. She extends her arms out and Ulay grabs her hands.
The two lovingly hold hands for the remainder of their time. In the end, Ulay stands up and walks away from the table.
A song is playing in the background of the video that adds to the emotion. It’s titled, “Ulay, Oh” and it’s from the electro-pop band, How I Became the Bomb (written by Jon Burr and Adam Richardson). The song is about the couple – and the video is actually the group’s music video for the track.
Some of the lyrics are as follows:
“There she was like a picture
There she was, she was just the same
There she was, he just had to know that she had forgot his name
Ulay, Ulay, Oh”
You can watch the tear-jerking reunion for yourself below!
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