Artist Highlight: Michelle Lisa Polissaint
Meet artist Michelle Lisa Polissaint, a multimedia artist whose work ranges from photography to textile. Michelle's work is largely grounded in themes of memory and nostalgia. The act of making is deeply linked to the artist’s personal experiences and functions as a means of interrogating not only her sense of self, but how this “self” exists and operates in the larger world. For Michelle, personal memories are a fruitful point of entry for discussing broader societal issues.
Can you tell us about your artistic practice?
Memory and nostalgia are common themes in my artistic practice. My hands are guided by the desire to gain a more thorough understanding of myself and my surroundings through the act of making. I see my practice as a series of responses and interrogations using my memories to relay conversations about larger societal issues. It is my responsibility to respond to the inquiries I have of society with the right medium to best engage in that discussion.
For example ‘Dancing with Myself’, a photographic self-portrait and interior series started in undergrad, was a way to investigate my own experience of existing in a black, plus-sized body with the freedom of leaving the nest while also forcing viewers to respond to their own feelings about weight and body image. Of course, there’s no “correct" way to respond to these photographs. The investigation, for me, is the most important.
Tell us about a personal artistic project or body of work that you are currently excited about.
Textiles and dyeing have been the most complementary medium to my current artistic exercises. Presently, I am working on a series of paintings that discuss how memories are often associated with specific colors using raw natural fibers and a dye-based medium. This series begins with fabric collages sewn together using free-motion. Once the pieces are attached I dye them in several rounds using a dye bath as well as painting in more detail with a dye-based medium. Using this method allows me to create deep, monochromatic color images that mimic the way memories appear in my head. This series explores my perception of past experiences, such as my time spent in the middle school locker room, the stillness after a family argument, and the triggers associated with them.
Tell us about how you have developed as an artist since you began working at Bakehouse.
Since coming to Bakehouse, I have been able to explore mediums beyond my photographic practice which has translated into mixed media works, textiles, painting, and even performance. Through a commissioning process for the 2018 exhibition, COLLECTIVITY, at Bakehouse I was able to produce the first pieces for a new series called The Ballad of Me & You. This series of mixed-media textile works explores my failures and successes in romantic relationships. The Ballad of Me & You reconnected me with textile processes I hadn’t practiced since college. This exploration catapulted my studio practice into the new paintings I’m working on as well as my comes manje series currently on view at the Miami International Airport.
