Aborigines ‘like dinosaurs’, says Marina

The world's most famous performance artist Marina Abramović has gone viral for a racist slur against Indigenous Australians.
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Photograph 2014 Marco Anelli; Serpentine Galleries

A leaked excerpt from Marina Abramović‘s forthcoming memoir Walk Thorough Walls has hit social media platforms today with the hashtag #theracistispresent.

The internationally celebrated performance artist described Aborigines as ‘living treasures’ but insults their appearance. ‘They look like dinosaurs. They are really strange and different, and they should be treated like living treasures. Yet they are not.’

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina