Her collaborations with longtime artistic and romantic partner, Ulay, born in 1943, caused an international sensation. Their innovative performances explored social expectations, gender roles, pain and mortality, female objectification, identity, non-verbal communication, and interpersonal connection. For their intimately confrontational 1977 piece, Imponderabilia, they stood naked at opposite sides of a doorway, forcing visitors to squeeze past them. In Rest Energy, a 1980 piece, Abramović and Ulay stood leaning away from each other, dressed in similar white and black outfits, balanced on opposite sides of a drawn bow. Abramović held the handle of the bow, while Ulay drew back the arrow, aimed at Abramović's heart. This reflected the mutual support and potential harm within a relationship, and catered to the societally-curated power dynamic in support of male violence.
Over time, their relationship became strained. After their breakup in 1988, Abramović continued to explore spirituality, political accountability, and the energy exchange between performer and audience through her solo work.
In a protest piece against the ethnic cleansing and war in Bosnia, Abramović spent four days scrubbing thousands of bloody cow bones for the 1997 Venice Biennale. She won the Golden Lion award for this performance.
In Abramović's iconic 2005 piece, Nude with Skeleton, she lay naked on the floor with a skeleton on top of her, mirroring her position. This beautifully macabre piece draws attention to the bones that support our bodies, and to our mortality.