Melissa Louise Bolger
M. L. Leddy's Gator Boots
72 x 42 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Custom Stingray High Top Chucks
26 x 38 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
detail
Hermés Lizard "Birkin" Bag
21 x 29 in.
graphite on paper
2015
Genuine Chicken/Hen Leather ipad case
35 x 45 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Frog Hide Leather Sheath
30 x 30 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Cosmetic Botox Injections
52 x 38 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Cobra Snake Blood Aphrodisiac
12 x 12 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Tiger Bone Wine
6 x 6 in.
graphite on clay board
2016
Pangolin Cure For Demonic Possession
24 x 24 in.
conte on paper
2016
Rhino Horn Hangover Fix
25 x 19 in.
Graphite on paper
2016
Bleached
11 x 14 in.
graphite on vellum
2015
Melissa Louise Bolger was born in Walsonburg, CO and raised in the country off the grid in northern California. Her surroundings were cliffs, forests, creeks and the voices of animals. After turning 18 she moved to different cities finally settling in Oakland where she has pretty much been ever since. She graduated from California College of the Arts in 2003 and has been creating and showing visual art throughout the Bay Area and in New York where she lived for a short time.
In her work, Bolger seeks to interweave environmental and social themes. Through portraiture she showcases the natural beauty of certain organisms. Her current body of work explores the exploitation of animals for consumer culture. She exposes the raw elements letting the viewer gaze into the innate artistry and abstract pattern. As mesmerized by the animal and plant kingdoms as she is, her work reflects on how the natural beauty of our planet is changing due to the desultory effect of human activity on the environment. Her work encourages the audience to take a closer look at the motives that lead to the catastrophic loss of certain species and the effects this has on the planet as a whole.