Performance in 2016 is about drawing into question our understandings of reality, the world around us, and the roles we play within it. Breaking and creating new rules as they go, these five artists each subvert the status quo and help push their individual genres into exciting and uncharted territory. While the next big fad in the art world at large seems to be a move towards the digital realm, these performers are more interested in the exploration of human perception, relationships, and the binary codes of culture we’ve created that need to be systematically broken down and examined. Just remember when each of these artists hits it bigger than ever this year, you heard it here first.A photo posted by @harinef on Feb 15, 2016 at 4:13pm PST
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Genesis Breyer P-Orridge
Nastja Rönkkö & Luke Turner
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Hari Nef
Hari Nef is not only the scene-stealing actress from season 2 of Transparent, she’s also a pioneering transgender model, writer, and social media phenomenon. When she’s not walking the runway for Gucci or penning thoughtful prose on the state of being trans in America, Nef is busy cracking deadpan jokes, posting killer selfies, and systematically dissecting cis-privilege on Twitter. 2016 looks poised to be the year the actress turns the corner from indie darling to major star as she continues to pursue acting full steam ahead with even more film projects coming up and a sky-rocketing modeling career that’s become increasingly high profile since booking editorials in Vogue, i-D, Paper, Candy, and Interview as well as landing the cover of Rollacoaster and Metal in 2015 alone.A photo posted by @harinef on Feb 13, 2016 at 4:03pm PST
Junglepussy
Junglepussy is at the forefront of a recent resurgence of talented female MCs that are innovating the rap community; an antidote to Iggy Azalea and other rappers-cum-pop stars that lack the same level of craft, rhythm, and depth. With the release of her second album Pregnant with Success, the Brooklyn-bred rapper has confirmed her status as heir apparent to Lil’ Kim’s feminist gangster rap throne, blending frank sexuality, with humor, politics, and a dash of Erykah Badu’s lyricism. She just dropped a music video on her site for her song “Spicy 103,” as well as announcing that she will be heading out on tour as support to Le1f next month. But in terms of the big picture of what we can expect in the year to come from the musician, no one says it better than Junglepussy herself: "2017 is gonna be a bad year to be whack in…haha j/k I scare myself to success. I'm never truly relaxed with all these visions on my ass but I find peace in creating, my hands weren't made for texting."A photo posted by junglepussy (@junglepussy) on Jan 4, 2016 at 11:02am PST
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