American artist Bruce Nauman frequently uses himself as the subject of his work, creating performances and videos that oscillate between the solemn and the absurd. Art make up emerged from questions that the artist was wrestling with about the nature of art, and how it functioned in relation to contemporary socio-political concerns. Filmed in an indeterminate location and accompanied only by the sound of the film moving through the camera (it was later transferred to video), the artwork sees Nauman applying coloured theatre makeup to his face and torso, with each new application transforming his appearance. Simultaneously unfolding across four screens, his repeated actions emphasise the artifice of the creative act, and the variability of identity.