'The wrong tool for the job' is a live performance with the absurdity of mental illness as its heart. As a sufferer of mental illness, specifically Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the artist is incredibly aware of how 'the absurd' is a theme that often surfaces within her work. The compulsions she engages with on a daily basis are, even to herself, often very strange and barely seem to make sense. In this exclusive performance, Laura explores this concept by trying to force an outcome in a way that is completely nonsensical. The performance is frustrating and hard to watch, just as it can be to watch a sufferer of mental illness when you don’t understand the person’s twisted rationale. In addition to themes of the absurd, 'The wrong tool for the job' is also a piece about the pure frustration that comes with mental illness, in particular the issue of communication. For those who suffer with mental illness, we can often find that it can stifle our ability to communicate and describe our experiences and it can make communicating in general extremely hard. In this performance the artist desperately tries to make the typewriter write, but fails after using the completely wrong tool for the job. August, 2021 © 2021 Laura Greenway

Her first live performance entitled 'The Gaze', the piece was performed at the 'Iris turns' exhibition at the Bargehouse gallery at OXO tower wharf. Based around the artist's experiences with severe OCD, in particular hand washing and performing rituals in public toilets, where the public often stare and taunt, the piece showcases  Laura frantically trying to clean an abundance of boxes whilst a timer counted down in the background, drawing a comparison with the gaze she often experiences in the real world.  March, 2017 © 2018 Laura Greenway

Footage from live performance piece 'Exhale'. The second of a two part performance, ‘Exhale' is the concluding part of previous performance 'Inhale'. After two hours of covering the paper in intrusive thoughts, another hour and a half is then spent engaging in the very physical process of trying to eliminate the graphite and charcoal markings, obliterating the piece - a reflection of the mental process of trying to erase these thoughts. April, 2018 © 2018 Laura Greenway

The first of a two part performance entitled ‘Inhale’ in which the artist spent 2 hours covering paper in intrusive thoughts that came into her head as she wrote. It will be concluded in its second part in April at a show in London where the artist will endeavour to erase the intrusive thoughts she wrote.

A new interactive performance piece entitled 'Weight'. The piece saw me walk in endless circles whilst the audience were invited to place black balloons filled with water into the buckets attached to me. As the buckets got heavier and heavier it made it harder to walk, until I ended up pulling the buckets around. The piece is a metaphor for depression and how the illness can make you feel like you are physically being weighed down, causing you to feel heavy and weak. In this performance the audience takes up the role of the illness, constantly fuelling those afflicted with negative thoughts and intrusions. © 2018 Laura Greenway

A new piece performed at Basingstoke's THAT Gallery. This piece explores the intrusive thoughts that so commonly manifest as a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the constant stream of upsetting and invasive thoughts that bombard the artist. For over an hour non stop Laura circled herself with the thoughts that came into her head in the style of automatic writing. Thank you so much to everyone who came, to everyone at THAT Gallery, and to Diana Farmer and Josh Hawkins for helping to film and edit the piece. © 2018 Laura Greenway

Performed twice, once at 'One in Four' at Lewisham Art House, and more recently at 'Mind@Silver', a mental health and arts event held at The Silver Building, London, this piece explores the artist's own insecurities in an interactive live piece. Baring her own insecurities on the sheet around her - as well as showing her own scars, stretch marks and blemishes - the artist invites her audience to pick up a marker pen and use her body as a canvas to write their own self doubts. The piece examines body images issues, highlighting the negativity and self-hatred that can result from constant media bombardment and societal body shaming. This intimate performance also takes a look at themes of intimacy and vulnerability with its encouragement of audience participation. Photos courtesy of The Silver Building and photographer Wiktoria Slowikowska. December, 2018. © 2019 Laura Greenway

This piece 'entitled 'Contact ' was shown as part of my MA degree show which focused on the idea of the fear of touch and intimacy that results as part of my OCD and ongoing mental health problems. The piece aims to create a sense of discomfort within the viewer, allowing the audience to feel as if their skin is being touched, tugged at and pulled. The film was displayed as a projection on a suspended piece of Perspex creating a ghostly and fragile looking image that appeared to float in the air. © 2019 Laura Greenway