The Breath - Abstract Painting Series Inspired by Investigating Breathing During Yoga and Meditation

The Breath series (2015 onwards) is informed by Michelle’s experiences investigating the breath through teaching yoga and practising meditation. These disciplines, which develop skills of restraint, wise reflection and a balanced application of energy, are reflected in the minimal, uncluttered images that comprise this series. They convey the breath in abstract paintings as something that can be light and barely there, or by contrast, bound and held. Depicting abstractly the notion of, for example, using a small portion of the lungs, is a common respiratory experience we are rarely aware of. Throughout this series, the canvas is the body-as-vessel for the breath.