In 1989 – the same year Chen Qiuchi was involved in the Tiananmen Square protest – Marina Abramović and Ulay (The Other) interrupted their artistic collaboration, which had started in 1976, with an extreme artistic action: the performance “The Lovers: The Great Walk.”
The preparation of this project lasts for eight months, and its completion takes three months. The performance unfolds with the two artists starting from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China – Marina in the east, Ulay in the west – and meeting in the middle during this journey. They covered 2500 kilometers to bid each other a final farewell and, through a metaphor, bring an end to their symbiotic artistic relationship and collaboration.
