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My dissertation the novel The Lure of Happiness : a story about love, hate and hair is told from the perspective of Fiona, a young white woman who is estranged from her abusive family. The majority of the novel is set in 1997- 99 in Brisbane, Queensland. It deals with topics such as racism, homophobia, alcoholism, mental illness, graffiti, shoplifting, drug use, sexuality, fame, performance art, spirituality, and friendship. Fiona sees happiness as something she must find, rather than create, and her search for happiness leads to risky behaviour with short-term enjoyment and much regret. Changes in Fiona's life and attitude are paralleled to changes in her hair colour. My critical essay How Social Justice got labelled Obscene: Twentieth Century Performance Art is an examination of some of the most controversial twentieth century performance art in the English speaking world. The essay begins with a discussion of my own performance art practice and a contextualisation of the historical and cultural shifts in the definitions of art and artist in the West. The majority of the essay is devoted to artists such as Marinetti, Tzara, Cahun, Debord, Finley, Sprinkle, Gilbert and George, The Guerrilla Girls and Pope Alice. The essay ends with a discussion of arts funding in the context of the annual live cabaret Art Love Jam that I curated and produced from 1998 to 2001. An Appendix to the essay contains examples of media interpretations of Art Love Jam.
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