ARTIST STATEMENT
Grappling with experiences of the body and the discomfort of fitting into one’s skin, my interdisciplinary process-driven approach to creating work addresses tension. Through my work, I am unpacking a crumbling self-image and the loss of personal value.
Attempting to make visible the unseen. Playing with the dynamic relationship between the physical act of making and destroying “images”, I am studying the value those images/ works carry vs the loss of value reflected by the changes I make to them. Taking away the precisions of the images and materials themselves, devaluing them to inform the meaning. Realizing the manner in which my work is created is intertwined with the imagery produced. Seeing and using my materials as a body, as the skin, as the connections between our insider and outsider worlds.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michelle is a Canadian-born artist living and working between Montreal and Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Miami in 2012. Michelle then studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design earning an Associates’ degree in Applied Science. Michelle is currently studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, working towards a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Michelle’s interdisciplinary approach to drawing and extended image practice addresses tension. Her introspective body of work scrutinizes the internal build-up and lingering trauma within the body. Grappling with experiences of the body and the discomfort of fitting into one’s own skin.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries at the University of Miami, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Mana Contemporary Chicago.
© Michelle Alexander