We chat to queer performance artist Francis Fay, about ‘A Right Mary’ – his piece at this year’s Dublin Live Arts Festival.

Dublin Live Arts Festival 2014, which run until September 28, will be hosting some of the best international guest artists. Chun Hua Catherine Dong (Canada), Bjorn Neukom (Switzerland), Marcel Sparmann (Germany) and Lili Spain (UK) – as well as the very best homegrown talent.

Catch Francis Fay’s ‘A Right Mary’ at this years festival. For the full schedule, see DublinLiveArtFestival.com.

1. How would you describe your artistic practice?

Working as a Queer artist my performance work attempts to unveil that which is at the very heart of human experience. My recent work looks at ritual, its affect on culture and people, community and the individual self.
 

2. Who are your two biggest influences?

Ramana Maharshi and the mammy.
 

3. In no more than ten words, tell us your piece in the Dublin Live Arts Festival.

‘A Right Mary’ is a response to the phenomenon of Apparition, how it is communicated, performed and presented to an audience.
 

4. What is your proudest moment as an artist?

My proudest moment as an artist was at ‘Right Here Right Now’ Irish Performance Art festival in 2010 at Kilmainham Goal. I performed a piece ‘Marking Time’. For four hours I covered a cell wall with lipstick kisses.
 

5. What would you say to convince people who are sceptical about performance art?

To sceptics I say go and see for yourself. Get up out of your chair and go see a variety of work before you make your mind up. A lot of people repeat what they have heard or read about performance art but haven’t actually seen or experienced any.
 

6. If you were to collaborate with one performance artist working in the world right now, who would it be?

I’d like to collaborate Zhang Huan, a Chinese artist.
 

7. Name five famous people, living or dead, you’d invite to a dinner party at your place?

I’d invite these people to a dinner party, Francis Bacon, David Bowie, Marianne Faithful, John Waters (film director) and Nina Simone.
 

8. Who would play both of you in the Hollywood biopic of your life, and what would it be called?

A movie of my life…. Stick With It, a comedy of errors starring the late great DIVINE!
 

9. If the world were ending tomorrow, what would you do today?

If the world was ending tomorrow then I’d spend today at Killiney Hill with loved ones. Drinking a good bottle or three of red wine and eating cake. Fuck the carbs!