Contact Michele via email mlheur66@yahoo.com
View Michele's resume in pdf format here
Through
the layering and manipulation of surface and materials, my work references the
constant process of discarding, reviving, and recreating our identities. I am
intrigued by the fact that at any given time, certain fragments of our
identities rise to the surface, demanding more attention, while at the same
time, others lurk in the background, peeking through the layers. I believe that
we are all in a state of constant becoming.
Within this framework, my paintings also explore ambiguity: how you can't always be sure what you're seeing at any
given time and how our lives are filled with many more questions than answers.
Under these conditions, we search to fix meaning by identifying and naming what
we see. I like my work to exist in that place where meaning can't be fixed,
where what is revealed and what is hidden is constantly shifting and open to
interpretation.
I
am particularly interested in ambiguity and fluidity as it relates to
gender. My paintings and objects
examine--and attempt to dismantle--societal notions of gender as fixed and
binary. My work explores the mutability and performance of gender through the
use of gender-laden symbols, marks, and images that are disrupted, layered,
entwined, and partially occluded, creating ambiguous spaces where multiple
meanings/identities can exist simultaneously.