Artist Nikhil Chopra puts himself on display at The Met, New York

Nikhil Chopra is the first Indian artist to strike it big on an international scale, a part of a group of breakaways who have turned the foundations of the art world on its head, writes Kishore Singh

Who puts on greasepaint, changes costume, cross-dresses, playacts, and then does it all over again? An actor, right? Welcome to the world of performance art -- where the artist achieves all this right in front of you, over several hours, or days, just as one might at home, or in the privacy of a studio. Not emoting in front of a camera, or on stage before a seated audience, sometimes in a public space – as actors are required to do – but enacting, nevertheless, without once making eye contact: a self-absorbed ritual that is the hallmark of performance art.