known from the performance couple Ulay & Abramovic, always was involved in photography until he passed away in 2020. Ulay in photography is the title of a film, showing stages of his later work in Boston (1990), Berlin (1994-1995) and Australia (1997). His early work consists of small polaroids of private, often transvestite performances. Then the period together with Marina Abramovic, performing in public the most existential conditions of human endurance (from 1975-1988) brings worldwide fame. After their separation, Ulay returns to photography as his sole means of expression, chosing the human condition as mainstream of interest, be it the case of the homeless, the condemned, Aboriginees, or the way people relate to nationalism and its tokens, e.g. flags. Although he made clear statements, he always was open to reactions by his audience, showing himself without disguise and vulnerable.
He had shows worldwide and his work is in major museum collections, as well as private. In 2020 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam showed an important and extensive survey of his lifetime achievements. |