Performance anxiety

Abstract

The 21st century has emerged as a century of enhanced globalisation, forced a reorganisation of new economic models of ruthlessly competitive production and witnessed the establishment of a plethora of media platforms. These evolving characteristics of society have changed how we perceive our own identities and raised questions relative to whether we define ourselves based solely on the common conventions of identity such as ethnicity, nationality and religion. This MFA Research project Performance Anxiety seeks to address, through a form of personal narrative, this question of perceived identity - a key theme in art for centuries. Beginning with an exploration of the meaning of cultural belonging—the understanding of shared myths, customs, symbols, and jargon, and their underlying subtext I identify the importance of these shared experiences in a range of cultural contexts. By isolating indexes of both my Jewish heritage and an affiliation with surfing subculture I deliberately position them within the conventions of media narratives and clichés. Therefore creating an amalgamation of iconic emblems becoming a type of performance in which we all take part, each presenting our own cultural alignments and involving an interaction with the audience, shifting between action and reaction. The artworks are intended to demonstrate the transition from what used to be considered a fundamental identity, such as an association with an ethnic group, as opposed to a seemingly less authentic identity epitomized by the performance of media clichés, stereotypes, and narratives, an identity that is no longer definable for more than a moment as we progress through our lifeʼs path. The work is created across a diverse range of media, mostly those based on printmaking techniques. Many of these techniques were initially developed as commercial production processes, implying that consumer influences play a role in the construction of our identity. They toy with the relationship between surface and depth both visually and conceptually, questioning whether our identity is more about exterior than interior. Performance Anxiety is based on the idea that people in the developed world are entangled in an elaborate performance of their identity. This performance is in constant flux and changes to suit the audience and circumstances of the moment. While most people want to be perceived as unique individuals, their identity performances are heavily indebted to media stereotypes and often counteract a need to be distinct.