In my performances, videos and assorted artworks I map the ways in which my embodied interactions with the material world continuously alters my sense of self, place and belonging. For me, the body is not simply a vessel for the mind but an integral part of the performative, conceptual tools through which I come to have knowledge of the world. I understand the various personas that operate in my work as aspects of myself that are unlocked in relation to particular material environments and experiences.

I think art is both completely useless and absolutely necessary. It is part of the greater chaos from which it distills a focused moment of pure collaboration. By closely attending the particular experience of each these moments one may glimpse something of the dynamic force that animates all life. I believe we can critically evaluate and make sense of these experiences only by carefully observing the exact manner in which they link the body, the mind and the material world as part of a singular, performative plane. The results range from overtly violent scenarios to quietly introspective conceptual artworks.

These works combine gestures, materials and various modes of artistic expression into a changing body of work in which the artist is the only constant feature. However, in my work there exist no singular, fixed “I” but rather a dynamic i that is constantly evolving too.

Johan Thom (2014)

Key terms: performance art, conceptual art, materiality, the self, embodiment, political art, the body