Transfiguration

Olivier de Sagazan

 Painter, Sculptor and Performer.

Photo by L'echo de la Presqu'ile

Olivier de Sagazan is a transformation artist, this means that he incorporates painting, sculpting and performing in his performances.

His performances would be classed as Post-Dramatic performance as is isn't the conventional type of performance due to the cross over of the three different types of art.

The basic principle of Savagans' performance is the use of clay.

He uses clay and paint  to build layers on his face and body. This allows him to disfigure his body and change his appearance dramatically. In his videos you see him throw clay and paint on his face and he starts to shape it. He also puts the clay over his hair to create a completely different look to his body to create a performance about identity and trying to find who you are.

 'The human visage/hasn't yet found its face/ and that it behoves the painter to find it in its place.' (Artaud.A,2011)

In his performances he starts to destroy the layers and reveals his 'animalistic human who is seeking to understand his real nature.' (Channel Zero, 2016) 

His art work creates a sense that all humans have different sides to them, whether that be an animalistic side, a physical side and a spiritual side. His performance work allows the audience to see what being 'normal' could be if we as a race weren't so secretive about our primitive ways.

Savagans work is different to most of post dramatic work I have come across, it is a raw performance that doesn't hide the inner animal inside of everyone. His performances have got their own emotions, in some cases you could tell that he was sad, frustrated, relaxed, happy. The way he incorporates the three arts together creates a stunning piece of work to watch. His work is performance art, and in some ways it can answer the question what is performance art.

Performance in this case is a way to show people what could be, should be or has been. Performance art is a way of expressing an emotion, thought, physical problem and telling everyone about it. This performance piece for me does exactly that as its poignant message makes you think about your own self and how you can relate to such a strange yet effective performance.