[7][8] His most recent performances, such as Incorruptible Flesh (Messianic Remains) (2013) expand on aspects that define his earlier ensemble and collaborative work.

Joyce (2002) is an experimental theatre work which uses projection and live performance to offer a portrait of the women who defined the artist's childhood.

These events were staged at a bar in Silver Lake (Zen Sushi) and featured performances by Athey and Davis, as well as John Fleck, Osseus Labyrint, Los Superelegantes, and Kembra Pfahler and The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.

Staged under the festival's "Platinum" program, these events featured work by a range of artists, including Bruce LaBruce, Slava Mogutin, Brendan Mullen, JD Samson, Selene Luna, Mehmet Sander, and Glen Meadmore.

Athey has collaborated with others (notably Lee Adams) on a curatorial project inspired by the writings of Georges Bataille, Visions of Excess (Birmingham, 2005 and 2008; Ljubljana, 2004; London, 2009).

These performance programs have featured such artists such as Franko B, Julie Tolentino, Zackary Drucker, Nicole Blackman, Marisa Carnesky and Kira O'Reilly.

Athey (and his former home in Silver Lake Hills) makes a notable appearance as a macabre, cross-dressing mortician in Rick Castro and Bruce LaBruce's 1996 film Hustler White.

In 1994 Athey became a figure in a culture war, as conservative politicians fought to bar artwork with visible gay and feminist content from receiving public funding.

Excerpts from Four Scenes in a Harsh Life were staged at Patrick's Cabaret in Minneapolis on March 5, 1994, with support from the Walker Art Center.

The then-widespread anxiety about AIDS combined with a shocked reaction from those unfamiliar with S&M-related art: some critics and lawmakers, including Jesse Helms, falsely described his performances as exposing audience members to HIV-infected blood.

[21] Although this 1994 performance was supported only indirectly (via the Walker Center) by $150 from the National Endowment for the Arts, Athey's name was frequently invoked in criticism of the NEA.

Athey was not alone in this: performance artists Tim Miller, John Fleck, Karen Finley and Holly Hughes would later become the NEA Four as they fought a case regarding funding for their work before the Supreme Court.