Michaela Kachmar

Feel my Feelings (Diptych), 2024, Pipe Cleaners, 18 in × 18 in (Each)
Soft Space (Continued) (Inside Shot), 2024, Installation with Sound, Approx. 10 ft x 8 ft
Soft Space (Continued) (Inside Shot), 2024, Installation with Sound, Approx. 10 ft x 8 ft
Soft Space, 2023, Sculpture, 5 ft x 2.5 ft x 2 ft

To resolve an unsettled childhood, bridging the gap of childhood comforts and uncertainty in adulthood is important for emotional healing. By first approaching the feelings of sensory issues, the concept of returning to childhood comfort came as a result of research on the topics of sensory rooms and cheap fabrics. Through Soft Space and Feel my Feelings, I recreate memories and reminders of youth, a cogniscient solace fills the space as my art is a call for love between the spaces. I use sculpture and found-objects in a craft-like approach of glue, paper mache, chicken wire, newspaper and zipties as materiality is important for the recognition of childhood. As humanity matures to new social dynamics, engaging with our memories of comfort aids humans in forming well-reasoned judgments as they contemplate the implications of their choices on themselves, their families, and communities.

About

I am a multidisciplinary artist that seeks to make sense of myself through creating works that express my inner dialog. My work revolves around what my conscience is most concerned with. It reflects the world I have grown up in, and the world I am living in now. Through covering ideas of self-reflection and overconsumption, I reflect on society’s obsession with physical, financial or social appearances, and the effects of capitalism. These concepts dive deeper to themes of addiction, sensory processing and connection. I look to express my own polar emotions of anxieties and pleasures to the audience, and induce introspection.

Artist Statement

My process begins through living my daily life, being affected by my environment, the internet, my peers and my family. My ideas come from memories or discussions which lead me to visualize an object or picture in my head. To jump back in time, I grew up as a quiet child, I had many images in my head and had a difficult time expressing them through words. With my artwork, I can express myself with a sense of confidence. My first step of transferring my ideas into art is to sketch, either digitally in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, or manually in my sketchbook. I will also take pictures for reference either using and configuring my own objects and body, or using friends as models.

I am inspired by the art of women from the past century. Pipilotti Rist was the first contemporary artist that opened my eyes to bigger ideas. Her use of colour and movement through the theme of a woman’s body in experimental video art inspired me to work with surrealist scenery in the beginning of my art studies. Her work encouraged me to move away from the traditional painting and drawing to three-dimensional works.

My work takes form in painting, sculpture and design, often using each other as a starting point. I use oils and acrylics, found objects, wood, wire, paper and more. My style is intentionally naive and less technical, as the childish look resembles the images that I visualize in my head. My intent is to learn more about myself while the audience learns with me. Trying to make sense of ourselves is only human, which I look to provoke through viewing, experiencing, processing and making art.