Here’s Martin! The zombie as metaphor in Taste of Flesh/ Bite Me I’m Yours, Survival of the Sickest, the art of Martin O’Brien (essay)

PUBLISHED Aug 2018

Survival of the Sickest, the art of Martin O’Brien is the first book bringing together writing and documentation on Martin O’Brien and marking ten years of his work. The book includes photographs and essays by philosophers, performance scholars and art historians including Alphonso Lingus, Amelia Jones, Amanda Lopez-Kurtz, Jareh Das, Yetta Howard and Gianna Bouchard, as well as Martin’s own writings.

Martin O’Brien is best known for his long durational solo performances and collaborations with the pioneering body artist Sheree Rose. His work draws upon his experience of suffering from cystic fibrosis. His performance and video art is concerned with physical endurance, disgust, long durations and pain-based practices in order to address a politics of the sick, queer body and examine what it means to be born with a life-threatening disease, politically and philosophically.

Edited by Martin O’Brien and David MacDiarmid.