Androulla Michael (b. 1983, Great Yarmouth, UK) is an award winning and internationally exhibited visual artist, who lives and works in London, UK.
Androulla has exhibited in Athens, Brussels, Italy, London, New York, and Qatar. She is the winner of the Brussels Airlines Arts Award and her work is housed in the Luciano Benetton collection.
Alongside pursuing her artistic practice, between 2006 and 2019, Androulla taught Art and Photography at secondary and further education.
In September 2022, Androulla and Minnie Weisz co-curated HOME, a multimedia exhibition that brought together nine international artists working under the creative and social-cultural theme of displacement to compliment the tenth year anniversary of the Athens Democracy Forum, in association with The New York Times, held at the Zappeion, Athens, Greece.
Androulla works across painting, photography and film to evolve subject matter, whichwhilst personally derived, also transcends to become abstract, emotionaland subversive portraits. Strong spiritual and ritualistic references runin the very fibres of her work, which originates from her easternMediterranean cultural upbringing. Androulla's work challenges historicalnotions of portraiture and explores the human condition, unconventional forms of beauty, social media and themental health crisis.
Quoting a review of #Selfie of a Nobody by Helen Trompeteler:
“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 andraised in Great Yarmouth, UK.
2019 Livesand works in London, UK
EDUCATION
2002-05 BA(Hons) Fine Art, Norwich School of Art
2001-02 Art andDesign Foundation Course, Norwich School of Art
SELECTEDEXHIBITIONS
2022 HOME, AthensDemocracy Forum, in association with The New York Times, Zappeion, Athens,Greece
2019 Accessible Art Fair, Bozar, Brussels
2018 'Jointhe Dots' Luciano Benetton Collection for Fondazione Imago Mundi, Salon deliIncanti, Trieste
2017 BrusselsAirlines Likes Art Award, The Loft VIP Lounge, Brussels Airport, Belgium
2016 ‘Art ForTomorrow', sponsored by The New York Times, W Doha Hotel, Qatar
2016 Accessible Art Fair New York, The National Arts Club, Manhattan, New York
2015 SummerArts Prize, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
SCREENING
2014 TheCurated Ego: What Makes A Good Selfie? National Portrait Gallery, London
PUBLICATIONS
2020 A FictionalWalk with Androulla Michael, Storehouse magazine, Norwich University of the Arts
2019 WonderIsland – Fondazione Imago Mundi, published by FABRICA
2017 #Selfieof a Nobody (365 days) published by VogueItalia
AWARDS
2017 BrusselsAirlines Likes Art Award
2015 Runnerup of The Lacey Contemporary Summer Arts Prize
COLLECTION
Luciano Benetton