Prosthetics and Poise: Lisa Bufano

photo by Audrey Penven

Lisa Bufano was an artist and dancer, known for her performances revolving around life as an amputee.

 After losing both of her legs and most of her hands due to an infection, Bufano turned from dancing to the visual and performing arts. She had a multitude of prosthetics of all different shapes and sizes, some for everyday use, and others as instruments for her performances. In an interview with fellow artist Cait Davis, she described her experience as being like “having lots of different bodies.”  

With each set of limbs, she has to consider how her size changes, and adapt to having a different centre of gravity. It was this process that helped her realize that she could incorporate prosthetics into her work. In her work, Bufano explored issues of body image, along with the struggles of being estranged.

Like with Victoria Modesta, studying Bufano's use of prosthetics helped me gain further understanding of how to alter my characters' movement and stance to accommodate their unique limbs without it looking unnatural or out of place.