Welcome to my exhibition page that shares images from my Sync Re-Ignite residency.
VANISHING POINT
Conversation between Sarah and Michele:
Michele: It’s called “Vanishing Point.” The blue and orange background symbolizes strife and rest. The two beings — one on the left, which you can barely see in orange outline, and the one on the right, which you can see clearly — represent two sides of myself. One side shows what the world sees, and the other side represents the private person, the quieter moments.
Sarah: And what are they doing in the image?
Michele: They’re grabbing and pulling apart a woman’s vagina, and from that, something is emerging. It’s about showing the ties between them both — as a woman, as a femme. The collage elements are there to signify difficulty and the complexities of life.
Sarah: And in terms of the collage, what choices have you made with colors and textures?
Michele: I’ve used some complementary colors — orange and green, warm and cool. There’s blue and orange on the right side, and on the left, orange, blue, yellow, and a bit of purple. The figure on the left is in orange pastel so it blends into the background, while the one on the right is done in dark purple pastel to bring it forward.
Leadership Reflections
Leadership Model
My model here is made in watercolour marker. Against a green background, an orange/pink figure lies upon a blue bed, covered with an orange quilt. Beside the figure there is another slumped figure attached to the figure, representing a facet of the figure. It’s me. Straight thought lines of red emanate from their head.
A larger hand from the upper left of the picture points at the figure. It is a gentle hand in stark contrast to the menacing screaming rust reddish coloured angry faces, one with an indignant pointing hand located on the right side of the picture facing the figure in the bed.
These faces represent hostile forces, of governmental policies and regulations, societies stringent laws, the medical model and people who have limiting judgemental views.
Leadership Drivers
‘When I last spoke to Sarah we discussed my need to be seen, heard and valued, and I told her that when I was a child, I’d turn my grandparents radio on full blast in the wee hours of the night when I was 2 years old.
She advised me to maybe create an image of that and how thinking about that time might make me feel those motivations for my life now with recognition as an acknowledged motivation for me, in my leadership so showing myself as adult with those desires too.
That’s me in my night gown with a cane, walking through a doorway to my now life, or the adult me. The loudspeaker is blaring my needs to be a child again.
And I’m walking through a doorway to hope’
Line Drawings
Click the left and right arrows to see more images:
Conversation between Sarah and Michele:
Sarah: Lovely. So, tell me about the next image — what is it about?
Michele: It’s supposed to show a femme, a woman. You see one of her feet, and there are teeth in her gown. It’s meant to represent that being in bed has its difficulties — physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically. And yet, she’s relaxing, leaning in, finding comfort in her bed. The hand in the top left corner symbolizes the hands caring for her. Sometimes her body can be a bit of a cage, but the bed is relaxing and comforting. At the bottom, there are water droplets — I love water. I get comfort every day from being washed and cared for. The doorway at the top right represents shards of glass that could cut anyone passing through. Below that are stairs — which I can’t climb. It shows something I cannot do, no matter how hard I try. And underneath there’s a sword, with a broken edge, showing fatigue — not being as sharp as I’d like to be. But above it all, there’s a crescent moon — a time of rest and rejuvenation. I really like this one.
Sarah: That’s beautiful, Michele. Hearing you describe it brings out so much emotion — the sense of bed as a place of comfort and restoration, the hands that care for you, and the water you love. Those jagged edges you describe — they feel like your body, sometimes difficult, but also powerful. And I love that sword with the cranky edge. It feels like there’s an outside world that’s trepidatious, something beyond your control.
Michele: Yes, exactly.
