Tied and Tested: Miles Greenberg's 'Sebastian' and the Art of Endurance Favorite 

Miles Greenberg is a performance artist from Canada who specializes in time, endurance, and the human body. His art is often complicated and deep into the human experience, with physical endurance mixed into visual metaphors that create deep, profound statements of the human condition. One of the most compelling works has been "Sebastian," which is evidence of his ability to take performance art into deeper consideration of vulnerability and resilience.

"Sebastian" is performed in an art gallery where he stands on a stone from Lido, his body covered in five arrows that evoke the form of Saint Sebastian, the Christian martyr. Eight hours long, Greenberg shows the piece with slow-motion video and 3D scans of the same performance, mounted by robots in four cameras. The minimalistic space of the room focuses on Greenberg and how his body relates to everything around him. As Greenberg starts to spin, the room drips sugar syrup from the ceiling, which dissolves his makeup, forming a pool on the floor. As the syrup starts to restrict Greenberg's movement, it draws the focus on just how much physical endurance he must have in order to perform. The progression of this damage sets up a visual metaphor for the challenges through which people must go both literally and metaphorically. Eight hours later, Greenberg's mother comes to collect him and takes the arrows out of his body, thereby ending the piece.

"Sebastian" is the epitome of endurance and vulnerability, as Greenberg's body is used to express the struggles of humankind every day. The fact that Greenberg has to remain lying, being pierced by arrows, just creates a metaphor for how we go through the struggles in life and the pain that we take in our stride. The slow progress in rotation, the thickened syrup that starts to impair Greenberg's ability to move, expresses the endurance needed to go through the hardships in life and the dichotomy between resilience and vulnerability. The performance brings forth the image of Saint Sebastian, a Christian martyr famously depicted in art, tied to a post and pierced with arrows. Such a visual metaphor figures how one might go about their physical and metaphorical struggles; how do we come out the other side surviving? The image of Greenberg rotating on a stone, pierced by arrows, is very evocative. This performance challenges audiences to reflect on their experiences while striving to maintain resilience and vulnerability. The dual reflection it offers—between the endurance of the visual metaphor of Greenberg's physical state and its presentation beside it—presents many opportunities to reflect endurance, originality, and the struggle that one must work through in navigating all three.

"Sebastian" becomes a touching piece of performance art that allows the distance between fortitude and vulnerability to become a somewhat physical equation. Through this very physical endurance of Greenberg's work, viewers are provoked to contemplate the many challenges in life, which are both metaphoric and real. One can find deep contemplation about the human condition and its struggles hidden in the symbolisms of the piece; from the dissolving makeup to the body soaked in syrup, one cannot miss the references that all play out in one long monologue. Lastly, Sebastian reminds one in a most potent way that life is about finding a delicate balance, that which lies between bearing the arrows of life and trying to find the strength to go on. This is, after all, a testimony to the enduring spirit.