MARIA MICHAILS
www.treiastudios.net
Maria Michails Petri Series, Benzene
Maria Michails’ human-powered mech- anisms are the nucleus of interactive installations that parallel human expenditure with human consumption to address broader ecological and social issues. Michails work, The Petri Series: Benzene, employs a human-powered bicycle photo-sculptural installation that is activated by the partici- pant. The mechanism is in the form of a car that generates electricity to light up the cell images. Visitors operate the cycle to light up the field, making the colorful benzene images come to life. Using microscopic images of cancer cells printed and mounted on circular plexiglass, they are embedded in petri dishes sitting in stainless steel forms in the shape of benzene molecules. The images of Benzene remind us of the power of chemicals left be- hind in our environment and their sometimes devastating effects on our health and the natural world.
Bio Maria Michails is a multi-disciplinary artist who works across sculpture, photogra- phy, video, engineering and the sciences, creating human-pow- ered installations that invite participation and inquiry into industrial and ecological processes. She has received grants and fellowships in support of her proj- ects from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Quebec Arts Councils, Arizona State Uni- versity, New York State Artists Workspace Consortium, Eyebeam Art + Technology Cen- ter, Sculpture Space, Vermont Studio Center, Santa Fe Art Institute and, most recently, was the 2012-13 Barstow Artist in Residence at Central Michigan University where she
also taught classes in Art & Ecology. She will be Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute in 2013-2015, conducting artistic research alongside research scientists. Michails has an MFA in Intermedia from Arizona State University and a BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Concordia University, Montreal.
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