Bodies in Translation: Age and Creativity

Michael Fernandes

Artist Biography
Michael Fernandes’ practice combines linguistic and performance events catalyzed by humour. Currently living near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fernandes was born in Trinidad and moved to Montreal when he was 17 years old. Initially a painter, he turned to installation and multimedia to create situations that actively solicit participation from the viewer, while accommodating the viewer’s subjective response.

Fernandes is an instructor in Intermedia and Fine Art at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He has exhibited and performed throughout Canada and internationally, notably at The National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Museum of Modern Art P.S.1, New York; Calaf Art Públic, Barcelona; and The Context of Art Biennial, Warsaw. In 2006 he exhibited the interactive installations Room of Fears and Fixing Room at MSVU Art Gallery. His work was included in the nationally touring exhibition Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada 1965-1980.

Artist Statement
I am a senior Canadian artist, living and working in Nova Scotia. As I grow older, my work has become less obvious and revisits the mundane with an eye to simplicity. I wear the same hat with regard to both art-making and living my life.
It’s a blurred line, both having equal value.
Day by day, life finds me less critical, more playful.
I have no excuses.
No one to blame.
Curiosity prevails.
There is no failure
I seek to engage rather than impress.
Hurting. Where I used to soar – a milestone of acceptance has passed with a determination to carry on.
I like the work to be open, exploratory, with no desire to resolve.