Performative Construction of Identity through the Personal and Postcolonial Body of Performance in the Oeuvre of Breda Beban

Abstract

The paper explores the oeuvre of intermedial artist Breda Beban within the frameworks of feminist and postcolonial theory, providing a classification in which the performative construction of identity is considered through the personal and postcolonial body of performance. The research aims to present and theoretically interpret Breda Beban oeuvre, shaped by the experience of emigration and a liminal identity. Positioned as a woman, artist, and migrant, Beban uses the autobiographical script to problematize themes of migration and national (non-)belonging. Her work highlights spirituality, nostalgia for, or glorification of the lost homeland, and the associated sense of marginality resulting from her personal experience of migration. This entails a nuanced exploration of complex relationships with personal and collective cultural identity construction, the concept of otherness, and the politics of representation and performance.