Nia: When would you say that this special relationship with clothes started?

Marc: Well, I had a special relationship with clothes from an early age. I remember expressing myself by dressing up like Dennis Rousseau or Kate Bush and acting out different sketches in front of my parents or close family. Those performances and the clothes I used to wear in them appeared in my day to day clothing then.

Nia: So performing has always been in your blood then?

Marc: Yes, always. And I've always created special costumes myself for performances.

Nia: A lot of your performing work has an autobiographical slant to it hasn't it. Is that true of your clothes too?

Marc: Yes. Because my work is inspired by my local area which is Cwm Tawe. I often visit my parents home there. When I'm there, I look in the attic and around the house and find maybe an item of clothing that I had as a child or a suit from the 70s maybe, and then it inspires my performances.

Nia: Does that not put you in a vulnerable position then, that you are telling a story about your own life through your clothes?

Marc: Well, yes. But the thing is, the work I do actually reflects my personal identity, my sexual identity in particular, and the clothes that I wear, or no clothes as the case may be, helps to reflect this.

Marc: My clothes wardrobe is kept in the spare room and is very small. I don't have masses of clothes. The first thing that I'd like to show is a pair of pants I had when I was eight years old. I don't think they fit by now so I won't try them on to show you! But, there's a story behind these...I remember when I was eight years old and I had a PE lesson – the girls were changing into their knickers and vests so I ended up in my pants thinking I needed to do the same. Of course, a lot of people started laughing and my teacher was hysterical. So, what she did was to parade me around the whole school and over the yard and into some of the classrooms in front of everyone. Of course, that was a very traumatic experience for me and I think that's the reason why I spend so much time performing in my pants or no pants at all.

Marc: A lot of things in my wardrobe are related to my childhoood. When I was little, I had a tendency to have curly hair so when my hair grew quite a bit, I tended to panic a little. This is the balaclava I used to wear in bed to try to hide my curls and slow down the growth. I thought I looked too girly!

Marc: I've another item which is also related to my childhood. I remember going to a Road Race at Cwm Tawe in 1982, and to prove my masculinity I practiced my performance every night and in the end I won and this is the outfit I wore! As you can see, it still fits me...just!

Nia: I take it that you often wear a dress for work?!

Marc: Well, no, not always. There's a story behind this outfit. At the beginning of the 90s, I did a show called 'Iddo Ef' which was based on Ann Griffiths's work so this is the outfit that was created specially for me for that particular performance. And there's a story behind the inspiration for the outfit too – I remember watching the BAFTA Wales ceremony and Nia Ceidiog wore a similar shaped dress to this one which showed her toned arms perfectly. And it's thanks to Nia that I was inspired to create this dress. And it still fits!

Nia: I take it that there's a symbolism to this coat?

Marc: Yes. There's a great sound to this leather coat when you move in it. So, it's the sound that actually sparked the performance I used this for. The performance was naked other than this jacket over my shoulders and head. The whole performance tried to reflect what happens to the skin as we become older and maybe the obsession that we have in trying to keep our skin and bodies healthy and young looking.

Marc: During the 80s, I went to study art at Brighton and I thought it might be a good idea at the time to create a new outfit for my first day at art college. But, remember it was the 80s. This is the towelling top I made. Hideous isn't it?

Nia: Yes, it is!

Marc: And there's matching trousers too! And believe it or not, I did wear the top and matching trousers for my first day with Dr Marten boots and a biker leather jacket on top and I thought I was great. After my first day, I was named 'the little Welsh boy'!

Nia: One thing that strikes me is how much you enjoy your clothes don't you?

Marc: Yes, I do. As you've discovered, clothes are important for my work as well as the clothes that I wear every day.

Nia: How would you crystallize your relationship with your clothes wardrobe?

Marc: Because my clothes has such a strong influence on my work, clothes are extremely important to me.