Visceral and Exuberant: Art by Julianna Barabas
Seam 1 (performance at Hastings Art Gallery, photographed by Rebecca Applegarth)
Julianna Barabas is a Calgary-based performance artist, speaker, and educator who often uses her own body as a medium and as a point of contact between artistic concepts and physical spaces. Julianna’s works are equal parts visceral and exuberant.
In one piece, called seamline, the performance consists of Julianna having a single line tattooed over the perimeter of her body, in several performance/tattoo sessions. It’s interesting to see a performance where the artist gives up so much personal control, and puts their trust in the hands of another artist. The resulting space and atmosphere represents both a collaboration and a deliberate exchange of power -- seen in still images on Julianna’s portfolio website, the process seems to have the painful, transcendent, and cathartic qualities reminiscent of early works by Marina Abramovich and others.
The front page of Julianna's art portfolio website
Julianna’s other performances, such as Real Time, invite a sense of intimacy between performer and audience, using physical touch and very small groups to blur the line between artist and viewer.
