Blood on the floor (literally) as Parr takes on Pollock

A bloody encounter between two icons sets the tone for a new survey exhibition of Mike Parr at the National Gallery of Australia.
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Performance by Mike Parr at NGA responding to the gallery’s iconic Jackson Pollock painting; Photo ArtsHub

Any performance by Mike Parr is highly anticipated. His one-off ode to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) last night was even more so, given the occasion was the opening of his first major career survey, Foreign Language.

Parr is arguably Australia’s most internationally-recognised performance artist, and is notorious for harming his body in the name of art.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina