Muscle Memory 2024
Ink, rust, graphite, charcoal, chalk & paper pulp on found canvas
10x12x4


These recent sculpted paintings are a part of a growing series under the theme “Dirty Rainbow”, that are reminiscent of childhood trauma. These objects have been metaphorically run over and abandoned to endure the elements with no comfort other than receding into a dissociative state.

Each piece, once filled with beautiful potential and perfection, have been steamrolled over and left to fend for themselves. Broken down detritus begins to fill the underbelly with the hope of a new life. Although, the trauma is never forgotten. It lives in the folds and crevices of the fabric and in the pigment pressed into the fibers at a molecular level. To evolve is a continuous process of acceptance and letting go. Each sculpted painting represents a cycle of emotional death and spiritual rebirth.

Michelle Anne Harris is a Philadelphia based artist and Co Director of Big Ramp gallery, where she is Head of Special Programs and Community Outreach. Her art and teaching practices are rooted in her background as a trauma informed early childhood art educator. Michelle has an interdisciplinary approach to creating that includes printmaking, photography, painting, book arts, poetry and sculpture. She received her Master of Fine Arts Degree in printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art and her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in photography and art education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Michelle has developed educational art programming for the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit,Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Art Institute of Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center and Mural Arts Philadelphia.