Liam Benson at Sydney Contemporary

I first discovered Liam Benson‘s performance, photographic and video work when the art collecting group I was part of Hawkesbury One bought some of his early work. He had just recorded a couple of performance pieces, Ophelia and I Believe In You. I really loved both works because of both their playfulness and their conviction. Though in some ways fanciful, Liam WAS the portrayed character.

He’s back at Sydney Contemporary this year with another wonderfully playful performance. He’s dressed as a woman in a gorgeous white dress, and as he walks around, people are encouraged to draw on the dress with coloured pens. People were really getting into it, as Kate and I stopped to observe. He says he’ll embroider the images, and this in turn, creates a permanent record of the performance. Wonderful stuff.