Skin. Our largest organ, our greatest sensory membrane, and how we perceive and receive the intimacy of the world. Skin is for touch. To touch and be touched. And yet, the pressures of contemporary life have produced an aura of distance around what otherwise longs for contact.
Maybe art can also be for touch. To touch and be touched. A medium, a mediator, a bridge, a surrogate for the kind of touch our human and mammal bodies might have always wanted. Drag, prod, hug. Caress, fur, rest. Michelle Vine has made us touch-affirming objects and restful nests (with immersive sound-scape by collaborator Luke Jaaniste).
Come play with these. Come play in these.
Michelle Vine is a contemporary artist, currently completing her honours at Queensland College of Art. Through her practice she wants to get under the skin of things, to question and experience the machinations of producing sensation and knowledge. In recent years her focus was on the the site of knowledge formation in biological science (with residencies and research trips across outback Queensland and museums in Germany). However, this year has seen her return to earlier concerns of embodiment, feminist presence and performative expression, now further explored through affect theory and social touch. Michelle’s work has appeared in House Conspiracy, POP Gallery, Qld Museum for the World Science Festival, The Walls, and Kunsthochschule Kassel, Germany. In addition to her art practice, Michelle is part of the teaching team for sculpture at QCA and works as curatorial researcher assistant at Urban Art Projects.
Maybe art can also be for touch. To touch and be touched. A medium, a mediator, a bridge, a surrogate for the kind of touch our human and mammal bodies might have always wanted. Drag, prod, hug. Caress, fur, rest. Michelle Vine has made us touch-affirming objects and restful nests (with immersive sound-scape by collaborator Luke Jaaniste).
Come play with these. Come play in these.
Michelle Vine is a contemporary artist, currently completing her honours at Queensland College of Art. Through her practice she wants to get under the skin of things, to question and experience the machinations of producing sensation and knowledge. In recent years her focus was on the the site of knowledge formation in biological science (with residencies and research trips across outback Queensland and museums in Germany). However, this year has seen her return to earlier concerns of embodiment, feminist presence and performative expression, now further explored through affect theory and social touch. Michelle’s work has appeared in House Conspiracy, POP Gallery, Qld Museum for the World Science Festival, The Walls, and Kunsthochschule Kassel, Germany. In addition to her art practice, Michelle is part of the teaching team for sculpture at QCA and works as curatorial researcher assistant at Urban Art Projects.
OPENING EVENT: Friday, 18 May, 6pm – 8pm
CLOSING PERFORMANCE EVENT: Saturday, 26 May, 2-4pm (with Luke Jaaniste, Megan Janet White & Stormbodies)
