Emeryville, CA – The Bullseye Bay Area Gallery presents a solo exhibition by Bay Area artist Michelle Murillo. A Measure of Time will be on view August 15 through October 17, 2015.
The culmination of a three-month residency at the Bullseye Resource Center Bay Area, Michelle Murillo’s A Measure of Time is inspired by the artist’s research into her Colombian and Irish ancestry. “As an American from a diverse background,” says Murillo, “I have a desire to examine how identity is constructed.” In Adrift, Michelle created a chronological self-portrait by reproducing her family’s historical travel documents, presented as a series of six kilnformed diptychs. “Identity,” Murillo explains, “is self-defined by place, traces of the past, memory, and knowledge.” In contrast, Waypoints presents a confabulated genetic identity derived from a DNA test. “The information contained in our DNA unlocks the history of our genetic memory that can give us a more complete picture of ourselves.” Comprised of screen-printed glass wafers, Waypoints represents a genetic identity that “simultaneously validates and complicates,” Murillo’s established family history.
Together, the two bodies of work attempt to reconcile the documented history passed down to Michelle and the genetic history revealed by her DNA test. “Using the test results and imagery from family documents, I have created maps – both literal and metaphorical for my shifting identity,” says Murillo.
Michelle Murillo received a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from the University of Alberta, Canada. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has held artist residencies at the Bullseye Resource Center Bay Area; the Guanlan Printmaking Base in China; and Proyecto’ace in Argentina. Murillo currently is an Assistant Professor of Printmaking at California College of the Arts, San Francisco and Oakland. She is a board member of SGC International, Kala Art Institute, and a former president of the California Society of Printmakers. Murillo currently lives and works in Oakland, California.