Performance artist Nigel Rolfe is muddying the waters between art and movement

Nigel Rolfe’s work has become stiller, more focused and internal as he’s aged, writes Ellie O’Byrne

“LAST night I pushed an 18-gallon galvanised bucket full of freezing cold water across the floor with my head. That’s a bit of a job of work; the hips are feeling it a bit today.”

Performance artist Nigel Rolfe, at 65, is still testing the limits of his body to create live “action art”. A seminal figure in the field of performance art, he was born on the Isle of Wight, moved to Dublin in the 70s and is elected to Aosdana, the Irish association of artists.