Culture Now: Ulay

A pioneer of Polaroid photography and one of the central figures of European performance art since the 1970s, Ulay (Uwe Frank Lausiepen) discusses his practice with Catherine Wood, Curator of Contemporary Art and Performance at Tate Modern. This talk marks the publication of Whispers: Ulay on Ulay (Valiz, 2014).  Compiled by Maria Rus Bojan (who has published extensively on Ulay), this new book reveals an innovative oeuvre, coherently rooted in a personal life philosophy guided by strong ethical principles.

Ulay (b. Solingen, Germany, 1943) lives and works in Amsterdam and Ljubljana. Recent solo exhibitions and performances include: Project Cancer, Motovun Film Festival, Zagreb (screening); Da ist eine kriminelle Berührung in der Kunst, Venice International Performance Art Week, Venice (screening)(both 2014); Ulay, MOTINTERNATIONAL, London; Ich bin Ich: Ulay on Ulay, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin (both 2013);Whose Water is it? Maribor 2012, European Capital of Culture, Slovenia (2012); The Great Wall Walk, C-Space, Beijing (2011); Ulay in Patagonia, Outline Foundation, Amsterdam; ULAY – Preview of Historical Works, MBArt Agency, Amsterdam (both 2010); Waterfonie, Goethe Institute, Ramallah; Waterfonie, Willy Brandt Center, Jerusalem Become, Galeria Skuc, Ljubljana. Curated by Tevz Logar (both 2009); and Performing Light, Booze Coorporativa, Athens, with Thomas McEvilley and The Goethe Institut (2008).

Catherine Wood has been Curator of Contemporary Art and Performance at Tate Modern since 2002. She co-curated the opening programme of TheTanks at Tate Modern, initiated the live online series Performance Room, and has curated major exhibitions such as A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance (2012). She writes regularly for Afterall, Artforum, Frieze, Kaleidoscope and Mousse magazines, and is on the board for Studio Voltaire London