Michelle Hamer

Incidences of disbelief and dismissal take place across all aspects of society, but there is also often a secondary layer of gaslighting that occurs when people try to share these experiences. Dealing with these official documents ethically has been core to the project and hopefully it allows for further conversations.
-- Michelle Hamer

Michelle Hamer's I’m A Believer is a darkly humorous series of prints that confronts the dismissive language surrounding chronic health issues while exploring gendered language, access, and erasure. Original letters, ethically contributed by patients from around the world (including medical professionals), have been redacted, retaining official formatting and scanned decay to expose delegitimising wording that casts doubt or disbelief on symptoms. The experiences of patients themselves are left exposed and legible in the print works, along with any implied subjective or moral value judgements couched in professional objectivity.

Hamer's new body of work comprises a series of silkscreens and monoprints created from 15 redacted letters, MRI/CT scans of body anomalies, and glitches exploring the layering of screens and language. Featuring the full suite of 15 editioned silkscreen prints and approximately 30 monoprints, along with a selection of hand-stitched works, this exhibition will engage with concepts of language, access and erasure, as well as printmaking as a medium and collaborative process.

I’m A Believer is extremely timely, particularly in light of the recently announced Inquiry into Women’s Pain by the Victorian Government, which follows a landmark survey that clearly reveals dismissive language and treatment of over a third of the women interviewed.


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