Androulla Michael (b. 1983, Great Yarmouth, UK) is a British award winning and internationally recognised artist and educator, living in London, UK. In 2005 Androulla graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Norwich School of Art. She has exhibited in Brussels, Italy, London, New York, and Qatar.
Androulla is the winner of the Brussels Airlines Arts Award and her work is housed in the Luciano Benetton collection.
Androulla works across painting, photography and film to evolve subject matter, which whilst personally derived, also transcends this to become intense, emotional and subversive images. Strong spiritual and ritualistic references run in the very fibres of Androulla's work, which originates from her eastern Mediterranean cultural upbringing.
Androulla's work challenges historical notions of portraiture and explores identity, the human condition, unconventional forms of beauty, social media and the mental health crisis.
Quoting a review of her work #Selfie of a Nobody (365 Days) by Helen Trompeteler former curator at the National Portrait Gallery and Royal Collection Trust:
“Androulla Michael’s intriguing images challenge historical notions of portraiture by removing any literal likeness of the individual. While Michael’s images are autobiographical in origin, she uses these diaristic images as a means of asking much wider questions concerning societal pressure for perfection or conformism. Where self-portraiture in popular culture often involves a form of social performance, these images are appealing in their abstract and subversive nature.”
BIOGRAPHY
1983 Born in United Kingdom.
Lives and works in London, UK
EDUCATION
2002-05 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Norwich School of Art
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019 Accessible Art Fair, Bozar, Brussels
2018 'Join the Dots' an exhibition organised by the Luciano Benetton Collection for the Imago Mundi Project, Salon deli Incanti, Riva Nazario Sauro 1, Trieste
2017 Brussels Airlines Likes Art Award, The Loft, The Carrier's Award Winning Flagship Premium Lounge in Pier A, Brussels Airport, Belgium
2016 The New York Times ‘Art For Tomorrow', W Doha Hotel, Qatar
2016 Accessible Art Fair New York, The National Arts Club, Manhattan, New York
2016 Life and Leisure –Postcards from (and to) Great Yarmouth, The Jetty
2016 1 WOW OF A TIME, Great Yarmouth
2015 Summer Arts Prize, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
SCREENING
2014 The Curated Ego: What Makes A Good Selfie? National Portrait Gallery, London
PUBLICATIONS
2017 #Selfie of a Nobody (365 days) published by Vogue Italia
2019 Wonder Island - Imagi Mundo, published by FABRICA
AWARDS
2017 Brussels Airlines Likes Art Award
2015 Runner up of The Lacey Contemporary Summer Arts Prize
COLLECTION
Luciano Benetton