Making a scene

Sawing through a finger. Wrenching an ankle. Chasing after a cow. No matter what, the show must bleed, hobble and gallop on. Artists share bizarre anecdotes that highlight the unpredictable nature of performance art.

What happens when a performance artwork or street intervention doesn't go exactly as planned? Artists end up chasing holy cows, come within an inch of being lynched by angry city residents and find out while chopping off a finger that cutting through bone is harder than it looks. We invited five contemporary artists, whose street interventions have ranged from travelling atop bulldozers to milking cows outside illegally constructed malls, to give us a behind-thescenes look at the vagaries of performing in public. 

DEMOLITION MAN 

In 1994, the Mumbai-based artist Tushar Joag was deeply affected by the city-wide slum demolitions, which had displaced 90, 000 families.