Christian Thompson adopts various personas through elaborate costumes, disguises and adornments in his videos, photographs, sculptures, performances and sound work. The ‘Polari’ 2014 series takes its name from the British coded slang employed by performers and LGBTQI+ subcultures between the 1920s and 70s. The series explores metamorphosis and the fluidity of identities through performative self-portraiture. The artist explains:

We are constantly changing physical and emotional form and yet we stay the same – I think this one of the underlying trajectories of my work and also of the human experience – to understand ourselves more deeply and to find our place in the world.