Performing Gender in Video Art

Abstract

Abstract This article examines Candice Breitz's recorded performances and negotiations of the representation of women and gender dynamics in her video art, looking in particular at her work Extra (2011). Showing that Breitz has addressed the representation of women throughout her oeuvre, this article argues that the works Factum and Extra mark a turning point in Breitz's practice due to their collaborative nature. In Extra, Breitz intervenes in scenes of Generations, the most-watched soap opera in South Africa at the time. Using her body as a tool of metalepsis, Breitz disrupts the seamless fictional narratives, questioning gender-related power structures and modes of identity representation displayed in the show. Findings from studies about gender-stereotyping in Generations raise further concerns about the responsibility of the mass media and artists in relation to representation. This article concludes that Breitz succeeds in making her spectators critically examine their own viewing habits by combining performance and video art as two relatively new and highly politically charged artistic media, especially in the context of South Africa.