Michaela Mcann

Artist Statement

McCann’s work is an exploration of the human condition primarily through the medium of oil painting. Centred around ideas of identity, perception and growth, McCann responds to the world she sees around her through unusual subject matter and visual metaphor. By embracing something strange or otherworldly, we learn to try and see things from new perspectives. McCann’s focus on curiosity, uncertainty and navigating the unknown as a part of the human experience encourages us to find commonality between people and speak about our shared experiences.

Inspired by magic realism, psychology and her own lived experience, McCann creates a space for reflection that invites the viewer to see the world from a new perspective and ask questions about what they are seeing. This work is a response to how we process new information in the modern day and how it shapes our thoughts and identities, the polarisation of our society and the shared struggles and endeavours inherent to the human experience. Through her practice, McCann challenges social institutions by rejecting the logic and rationality of everyday life and instead embracing the nonsensical.