To the artist, Cullen’s practice is an attempt at a continuous enveloping concept which seeks to explore a fascination with the practice of cults and organised religion, historical and contemporary, whilst endeavouring to comment on the lost and vulnerable young artist in the contemporary art world constantly seeking reassurance, validation and creative companionship. Deploying cinematic tropes to exaggerated folklore characters, the artist creates long form narratives that are transferred to film works. Storytelling is an important aspect to the work and attempts to mirror their own understanding of the world whilst utilising the practice of conceptual communication. General musings of existentialism, afflicted creative confidence, the enchantment of modern cults, and the idea of the contemporary art world as a cult-like institution also all feed in to the artists film making, writing, drawings and sculptural works.
Michaela Cullen (b. 1991, Belfast) is an artist based in Leeds. Cullen studied Foundation Art and Design at Belfast Metropolitan College and BA Hons Art and Design at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2014. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include: Double Dropping on a Phantom Island, The Newbridge Project, Gateshead (Curated by Bloc Projects and Caustic Coastal) July 2018; Allen Rd Sculpture Park, GRAFT, London, 2017; Selling crass tees to upper class kids, Collaboration with Sam Hutchinson, Serf, Leeds, 2017; Crawling hand in hand, out of the window (Solo Exhibition), Assembly House, Leeds, 2017; Hold Fast, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, 2017; An Offering to Baba Yaga, Serf, Leeds, 2017; Fresh n Frozen, Art Licks Weekend, 12 Collective, Stoke Newington, London, 2017; Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun @ Manchester Contemporaries, Manchester, 2016. Studio-holder, committee member and co-founder of Serf, artist led studios and project space.
michaelacullen.co.uk