Figures in Flux, Variations in the Body Palette

Cheryl Donegan is contemporary video artist that works with issues of the body as a site to create works of art. She takes a different approach from other artists; she rarely marks directly on her body. She often uses a barrier or a type of contraceptive between her skin and the working surface. In her piece, Practisse, from 1994, she places a cellophane hood over her head and paints over her face. This practice gives a somewhat blurry perspective on how this qualifies as body based performance art. This is body based performance art because the artist is using her face as site to create works of art and the body is directly influencing the subsequent work that is created, all be it from a degree of separation.

While Donegan is painting her face, there is a recording of James Joyce reading from one of his novels. Donegan is an Irish woman who identifies heavily with her Irish roots. Although she covers the entirety of her face with paint, blotting it out effectively, this becomes her way of identifying with the national legend and steps into a national identity.