when is my body authentic ?

Jaeden Walton's MFA Defence
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | 10:30 AM
Room 2205 – SFU School for the Contemporary Arts
149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver

when is my body authentic ? interrogates the porous boundary between authentic selfhood and performative presentation through a reframed and devised fashion runway. Rejecting the conventional opposition of authenticity and performance, this thesis argues that authenticity is a performative action that surfaces when performance falters; in moments of bodily collapse, fatigue, and vulnerability. Positioning the body as a scenographic element and living archive inscribed with memory and identity, the work employs devised processes informed by disability studies and queer theory to centre failure as a generative dramaturgical strategy. Garments function as co-performers, translating the lived experiences of the performer into wearable scenography, while cripped and queered rehearsal methods prioritize care over productivity. The thesis interrogates representation-by-proxy, the paradox of disability-themed performance that excludes disabled audiences, and the radical potential of rest and imperfection. Ultimately, authenticity emerges not as truth beneath the mask, but as the fragile human residue revealed within performance's collapse.

Keywords: Mind-Body; Authenticity; Queering; Cripping; Devised Performance; Design Lead Creation