The paintings in Happiness Because are large colour fields, which utilise random words and phrases as a motif. These words and phrases can be seen as a metaphor for our thoughts and emotions, which pass like clouds in the open, boundless, spacious quality of our pure, original minds. They’re painted onto sheets of newspaper using acrylics, then glued onto high-quality, heavyweight paper. view gallery
Hi, my name is Michael Harris. I currently live in Sydney, Australia. I completed a BA in Fine Art at the National Art School, Sydney in 2000. In 2008 I graduated with a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the New York Studio School in New York, where I lived for 6 years. I grew up in rural Victoria, the son of a diary farmer. After attending boarding school I spent several years living in Melbourne experimenting with theatre and acting, before travelling to Europe and living in London. In 2010, I received a scholarship through the Rome Art Program, travelling to Italy and spending two months in Rome drawing and painting.
Returning to Sydney, I enrolled in a two-year filmmaking course which I completed earlier this year, directing my first short film Blackout. I'm currently entering Blackout into a number of well-known short film festivals.
Since 1996, I've exhibited both in Australia and overseas.
