Michael Handley received his BFA from the University of Utah and his MFA from the Yale School of Art in Sculpture, where he received the George R. Bunker Painting and Printmaking Award. Handley has exhibited nationally and internationally, showcasing his works based on rain modification, wildfires, and drought-stricken landscapes. In 2019, Handley attended the BANFF Centre for Arts and Creativity under the “Earthed” themed residency focusing on environmental degradation and was awarded the prestigious Louis Muhlstock Endowment for painting. Recent exhibitions include the "How Do I Measure My Gratitude" at The Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, NY - Curated by Souhad Rafey, and "As the Lake Fades" - Utah Museum of Contemporary Art - Salt Lake City, Utah - Curated by Jared Steffensen.
I remember two distinctive things about growing up in the 80’s. The first is watching the movie ‘Back to the Future’ on VHS. It was the first time I saw a movie dealing with themes of generational advancements and the compression of time. These themes made me feel like anything was possible, at any moment, to anyone. I still believe I can travel through time if I can get my car up to 88 mph and somehow throw a banana peel into the engine of my car at the same time. The second was reading a National Geographic article about global warming, which focused on a hole in the ozone layer over Australia. When I read this article, an urgency and bewilderment was brought out in me. It was the first time I realized we could break the earth.
Like so many others throughout history, I find myself creating and performing ceremonies, prayers, and rituals in the hope of connecting myself with the earth. This connective urge has led me to develop specific processes and use materials referencing the cause and effect of environmental and natural manipulation.
My learning of our ability to manipulate nature has amplified my fascination with the processes used to manipulate it. As new examples of environmental destruction are released, a new chapter titled "No Return" has been submitted for environmental recovery, and visions of that ‘Back to the Future’ time machine come rushing in.
At this point, the rhetoric around Climate Change and Environmental Degradation is so convoluted with the pointing and passing of responsibility, cause and effect - I honestly feel like a bobblehead. Once again, I ask myself, how are we able to break the planet?