MICHAEL MAPES
b. 1962, United StatesMichael Mapes is a Kentucky-born artist based in New York. His highly meticulous work includes collecting hundreds of photographs and diligently gathered “biological DNA” – anything from genealogical information, personal statistics, cosmetic samples, fingernail clippings, handwriting samples and hair strands – which he then layers and compiles to construct his works. Signifying entomological, biological and forensic science, Mapes’s method includes deconstructing his original subjects both literally and figuratively. He then re-organizes his ‘DNA’ in tiny shapes and glass vials, tediously layering and composing until it forms a whole. Mapes’s work challenges the way in which scientific information is assimilated into culture, conveying the inherent tension between methodological objectivity and psychological subjectivity.
Mapes graduated in 1992 with a BFA and MFA from the University of Illinois. He spent the next fifteen years producing and developing creative products for his own product development company before returning to art full time in 2005. Today he lives and works in New York. Since returning to art Mapes has held numerous solo exhibitions throughout the United States, London and the Netherlands, with his most recently solo exhibition at the Yellowstone Art Museum in the United States.
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