DNA Map: For a Shifting Identity
DNA Map: For a Shifting Identity is inspired by research into my family ancestry. As an American from a diverse background - Colombian and Irish, I have a desire to examine how identity is constructed and negotiated. Identity is self-defined by place, politics and traces of the past. Seeking more information about my ancestry beyond the stories passed down through generations, I turned to the science of genetics. The imprint of DNA unlocks history in our genetic memory that can give us a more complete picture of ourselves. My DNA test revealed unknown information that simultaneously validates and complicates my family's history and the way I understand my personal identity. I am of Irish/British (66%), African (20%) and Asian/Native American (13%) ancestry. While I knew of the European and African lineage the Asian/Native American lineage is new information. Using the test results and imagery from family documents I am reforming my identity. I have created a map - both literal and metaphorical for my shifting identity. Working across glass and printmaking seems befitting of the complex subject of identity. The fusion of media is a paradox: ephemeral (glass), yet fixed (print) and somehow remains mutable and mysterious - like the journey of retrieving the past through DNA.
Assistant Professor, Printmaking and Graduate Fine Arts
California College of the Arts
An artist working across traditional and innovative media, Michelle Murillo seeks to expand the vocabulary of printmaking in an interdisciplinary context. Her work can be broadly understood as a practice of archiving: the lost, found, remembered, and collected. Murillo’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portugal, and Poland. She is the recipient of numerous residencies including Bullseye Glass; the Guanlan Printmaking Base, China; and Proyecto’ace, Argentina. Her work can be found in the collections of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles Center for Digital Art; Douro Museum, Portugal; and the Guanlan Print Museum, China, among others. Murillo is an assistant professor of Printmaking at California College of the Arts. She is a board member of SGC International and Kala Art Institute. Murillo received an MFA from the University of Alberta, Canada, and a BFA from Boston University.
