The term ‘re-enactment’ usually refers to live reconstructions of historic events, often of a military nature, performed by hobbyists. As performance art is becoming an historical phenomenon, artists have also been making more frequent use of forms of re-enactment. Historic performances from around 1970 have been recreated time and again since the 1990s – works which otherwise only exist in the form of photos, videos, and descriptions. But what exactly is being re-enacted, and what is the effect of the representation?

The exhibition Life, Once More couples examples of artistic reflection on forms of re-enactment outside art with re-enactments (or registrations of them) of artistic performances.