Artist Marina Abramović was ‘ready to die’ after she let spectators do anything to her for six hours

Serbian conceptual and performance artist, Marina Abramović has revealed how she was 'ready to die' after her most famous performance, named Rhythm 0, took a sinister turn.

In 1974, the artist gave the public free rein over her body for six hours, placing 72 objects on a table that spectators could use on her however they desired.

The idea was that Marina would not move, explaining that she would take 'full responsibility' for whatever they did.

The 72 objects ranged from things like flowers, perfume and apples to more sinister items like razors and knives, but halfway through and the experiment turned drastically wrong.

Abramović is famous for pushing performance art to its limits, most famously with 'Rhythm 0' (Marina Abramović Institute/YouTube)

While the audience were pretty relaxed at first, with many simply watching Marina and avoiding using the more dangerous items, things began to change as the experiment continued.

Within three hours, people realised there were no limits to their actions, and began taking extreme measures against the artist.

According to The Harvard Crimson, Marina had her skin and neck cut, while some people even drank her blood or touched her inappropriately.

By the end of the six hours, Marina had been stripped of her clothing and a knife had been stuck between her legs.

Harrowing photos taken at the time show the artist crying.

Some reports say that the artist even ended up with a loaded gun to her head, which led to people stepping in to end the performance for fears over her safety.

In an interview on the Marina Abramović Institute YouTube channel, she called the piece 'really difficult.'

Marina has spoken about the experiment since (Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

"At the beginning, nothing really happened," she reflected. "The public were really nice. They gave me a rose, they would kiss me, look at me, and the public became more and more wild."

Speaking about what happened when the performance finally came to an end, she went on: "I start moving. I start being myself [...] and, at that moment, everybody ran away. People could not actually confront with me as a person."

She added: "The experience I drew from this piece was that in your own performances you can go very far, but if you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed."

Further reflecting on this in a 2014 interview with the Guardian, Abramović said she was 'ready to die'.

"I had a pistol with bullets in it, my dear. I was ready to die," she told the newspaper.