Michaela Davies

ISEA Bio(s) Available:

ISEA2015

Michaela Daviesis an Australian artist, musician and psychologist, and fuses these multiple disciplines in her work. Her work investigates sonic possibilities, human limits, and the nature of agency, using electric muscle stimulation and other methods to both obstruct and extend human capabilities. Over the last decade Michaela has amassed a catalogue of work around these themes, presented worldwide at galleries and festivals including the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry, London V&A, Beijing Media Art Biennale, Experimental Intermedia New York, Currents International New Media Festival, ISEA, Mona Foma Festival Hobart, and Sonica Festival UK where she was 2013 Artist in Residence. Michaela holds a Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Sydney, and is an Australian Music Centre represented artist. She has received a Creative Australia Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts, and in 2015 her work was awarded an Honorary Mention in Prix Ars Electronica (Austria) for Digital Musics & Sound Art. She has received grants from the Australia Council, Arts NSW, and National Science Week. Michaela’s creative practice is informed by an interest in the role of agency in creative processes, and the liminal space between didactic execution and free interpretation inherent both in musical performance and beyond. In addition to exploring sound in installation & performance, Michaela plays electric bass in numerous projects.

ISEA2013

Michaela Davies maintains a multi-disciplinary art practice across installation, sculpture, sound, performance and video. Also a doctor of psychology, her work is informed by an interest in the role of psychological and physical agency in creative processes, and how obstruction can change the trajectory of development. Michaela’s recent work has used live percussion, sonified data and composed MIDI scores to control motor function in performers via electric muscle stimulation (EMS), with recent performances throughout Australia and also in New York. In addition to exploring sound in installation/ performance, Michaela plays bass guitar in numerous projects. Her musical collaborations and compositions are an eclectic mix of genres. michaeladavies.net