About the artist: Michelle Strah is a Navy and Army veteran who survived three moderate traumatic brain injuries (TBI) while in service. As part of her polytrauma rehabilitation she was introduced to digital photography in 2022. Since then she’s participated in the Josephine Herrick Project and has had her work exhibited at the RIVAA Gallery in New York City, the Wounded Warrior Project Independence Program, and in a juried exhibition at the Islip Arts Council on Long Island. Since 2023, Michelle has won multiple awards in color photography, black and white photography and multimedia art at the VA National Creative Arts Competition New York Harbor show.

 

Michelle uses fine art photography and music to manage her TBI related visual, auditory, speech and memory issues. She also explores these themes in her photos and videos, incorporating street photography with collage, fiber arts, and video. She’s currently working on a series of photographs reimagining Berenice Abbott’s classic New York Album in the 21st century through the lens of disability.

 

Artist Statement:

"These pieces are part of a series inspired by Eadweard Muybridge's 19th century photographic studies on movement and neurological disorders."

— M.S.