10. Rhythm 5 By Marina Abramovic
In 1974 the Belgrade-born, New York-based artist Marina Abramovic nearly became a martyr to her artistic imagination. In Rhythm 5, she placed on the ground a large, five-pointed wooden star, an echo of the communist red star, which the artist then soaked in petrol and lit. As the work blazed, she threw in bits of her toenails, fingernails and hair, which she cut off in front of a watching audience. The artist then jumped through the flames into the centre of the work. But Abramovic did not know the fire had sucked up all the oxygen and since the audience couldn’t see her clearly for smoke, it took several moments for them to realise she was unconscious. Abramovic was rescued just in time and rushed to hospital.