http://www.at.artslink.co.za/~elu/stevencohen/

Biographie

For twenty years Steven Cohen has created plastic works which were exhibited widely and were purchased by museums and international collectors. At the same time he also developed performance art pieces in different spaces, among them stages, museums, art galleries and unusual public spaces (taxi ranks, raceways, malls, dog shows, fascist rallies, etc.) and often in spaces where he has not actually been invited. He shows up unexpectedly and is often not particularly welcomed.

He uses his own body (and sometimes those of others), creating a “living art” channeling sculpture, dance and drag performing – all at the same time. His performances explore many different means of expression, dealing with various identitary questions linked to Jewishness, homosexuality and ethnic identity. With the dancer and choreographer Elu, he created a series of performance pieces (Crawling, Flying [1998], Kudu Dance [2000] and Chandelier [2001]). His project Living Art (1998) was awarded the prestigious Vita Art prize in South Africa, paving the way for performance art in that country. After a one-year residency spent working with Régine Chopinot and the Ballet Atlantique, he and Elu created I wouldn’t be seen dead in that.

Steven Cohen joined the BARC in 2003 and stayed there until 2008, while continuing to develop his own work and present it all over the world, in major international festivals as well as in the “off” alternative international festival network. His commitment and his critical overview of our society have made him one of the most engaged and militant artists in the performing arts. Since 2008 he is regularly asked by art and performing arts schools to speak about his experiences and conduct workshops for their students. In 2009, he decided to move to Lille, where he became part of Latitudes Production, and bought a workshop in which to develop his activities as both choreographer and plastician.