Michella Perera—Entangled in the History of the Idea

“Entangled in the History of the Idea” invites viewers into a speculative world built from an archive of shared storytelling, particularly within South Asian immigrant communities. Michella Perera’s acrylic paintings explore the paracosmos of a series of unidentified and highly pigmented women as they realise a more personal and intimate relationship to cultural material, forgoing traditional practices. Through their hands and feet, they extrude tactile knowledge, delineating an idiosyncratic understanding of their heritage and indigenous plant lore. Relief textile patterns punctuate the paintings, reminiscent of traditionally carved architectural elements, now reconfigured in the feminine practice of textile manipulation.