Acting Up is an ongoing project where Matt White the artist plays Matthew Heathcote the actor. All of Matthew Heathcote’s acting activities are recorded and this data is used to create outcomes that ask questions about identity and pretence.

The still images recreate the headshots of other actors. The original images were all sourced from the internet and by a process of trial, error and facial sculpting a photographic likeness was gradually worked towards. Each photo shoot would end when it was considered that a true likeness was created. Photoshop was used to make minor retouches but it is important that any kind of change in facial shape or expression was achieved not through digital intervention but through adding padding inside the mouth or by physically contorting the features.

Three films have been created and all feature Matthew Heathcote and are part of a series of shorts investigating role-play, mistaken identity and pretence.