Mike Parr, an Australian artist known for his brutal and violent performances, has spent his career not only shocking audiences by tormenting himself, but also exploring different media in a search to uncover his true identity. Born in 1945, Parr has been a successful working artist for over four decades, and continues to innovate to this day. Having based his career in Australia, Parr is not very well known outside of his home country, and has only recently begun to have major exhibitions in Europe. His 2012 retrospective at the Kunsthalle Wien in Austria gave new audiences access to his work, and revealed connections between him and the Vienna Actionists, the violent performance artists of post WWII Vienna. Through analysis of the artwork in different phases of Parr's career (including: early language-based work, violent performances, The Bride series, and his ongoing Self-Portrait Project), Parr will be placed within the context of other performance art of his time period, such as Allan Kaprow, Yoko Ono, Chris Burden, Marina Abramovic, and Orlan. This qualifying paper will examine the role violence, time, and identity play in Parr's work, as well as how these themes have changed as his career has evolved over the years. Lastly, the paper will look to offer insight into why people want to view his most violent work, and how he has managed to be financially successful, despite often working in the medium of performance. Parr is one of the most renowned contemporary artists in Australia, and is finally beginning to make a mark in other parts of the world.