Elizabeth Tomos.
Untitled (Performance Drawing).
This was my very first performance drawing which I created during my Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (2005-2006) at Carmarthen School of Art. I papered the majority of the floor of a room with a roll of Fabriano paper, used a series of wooden easels to create obstacles in the space and placed a large amount of black paint in the centre of the floor. Over the course of about 30 to 45 minutes I negotiated the obstacles; dancing in, around and over the easels slowly picking up more and more of the paint on my own body which then transferred to the easels and the room itself. This work was made in response to my growing awareness of the canon of performance art, in particular Mathew Barney’s “Drawing Restraint”, Bruce Nauman’s “Walking in an exaggerated manner around the perimeter of a square”, Carolee Schneeman’s “Up to and including her limits”.