Collecting — Michelle Samour

Aggregations (2012)
Drawn & Mirrored (2013)
Too Much Is Never Enough (2015)

This body of work has its roots in scientific illustration and collection. Beginning with a non-objective, organic drawing, each form evolves from the mirroring of its half. This aggregation, or accumulation of related forms, resides between the psychological inkblot, mirrored behaviors, and the bilateral symmetry inherent in natural forms—ranging from the simplest single-celled protozoa, to the complexity of the human body, its parts and its whole.

"Too Much Is Never Enough," 2015. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 7 x 9 ft. / 213.4 x 274.3 cm.

"Aggregation I," 2012. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

"Aggregation II," 2012. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

"Aggregation IV," 2013. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

"Aggregation III," 2012. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

"Aggregation V," 2013. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

"Aggregation VI," 2012. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 38 x 47 in. / 96.5 x 119.4 cm.

Installation view of "Drawn and Mirrored," 2013. New Bedford Art Museum, MA.

Installation view of "Too Much Is Never Enough," 2015. Acrylic on plexiglas, aluminum, artist frame. 7 x 9 ft. / 213.4 x 274.3 cm. Fitchburg Art Museum, MA.

With Whom Am I Speaking? (2015)

The use of glass to protect and display collections has a long history, and was particularly ubiquitous in the Victorian age. The parlor was the primary gathering place in the Victorian home and a showcase for possessions and collections. Family and guests convened in the parlor to play games, converse, read, and play music. Specimens of butterflies, iridescent beetles, shells and taxidermy birds were decoratively displayed under bell jars, in shadow boxes, in freestanding fireplace screens, and under glass tabletops, and were often a catalyst for educational conversation. Today our conversations are often between our computers and ourselves — the digital display a stand-in for actual specimens, and sometimes for humans themselves.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.1," 2015. Reverse painting on glass, aluminum, wood.

Installation view of "With Whom Am I Speaking?" 2015, Fitchburg Art Museum. Reverse painting on glass, aluminum, wood. Dimensions variable.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.1" (Front), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.1" (Back), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.2" (Front), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.2" (Back), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.3" (Front), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.3" (Back), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.4" (Front), 2015.

"With Whom Am I Speaking? N.4" (Back), 2015.

Detail of "With Whom Am I Speaking? N.1" (Front), 2015.

Detail of "With Whom Am I Speaking? N.1" (Back), 2015.

Detail of "With Whom Am I Speaking?" 2015.

Eye Aggregation (2012)

Eye Aggregation was created after an intensive artist residency at the Banff Centre while surrounded by the Canadian Rockies, which were formed 100 million years ago when the seafloor was uplifted from tectonic plates smashing together. Processing plant fiber into a fine paste, hundreds of individual handmade paper ‘eyes’ were poured, pressed, dried and then glued together to create this organic form that mimics the cellular structure of living organisms once alive under the sea. Encapsulated within a Victorian styled vitrine with cabriole legs (derivative of the French cabriole “a leap like a goat”), the ‘living’ fossil sits in relationship with another animal in this re-examination/animation of the natural world.

"Eye Aggregation N.1," 2012. Pigmented abaca fiber, perspex, wood. 62 x 22 x 22 in. / 157.5 x 56 x 56 cm.

Out of My Mind (2015-2021)

In these photographic collages, Samour embeds samples of her past work alongside sketches, color tests, research, and other print ephemera she has collected over the years. Photographed and printed to scale, the works are a physical representation or snapshot of the relationships the artist makes between her work and the visual arts, current events, science, technology, and the natural world.