Michelle Lisa Polissaint is a Haitian-American visual artist and arts organizer based in Miami, Florida. Her ongoing series, “If Home Was Home,” follows several trips to visit her family in Vieux-Bourg-d’Aquin, Haiti. Born in the wake of a previous series of introspective self-portraits in which Polissaint explored her relationship with herself away from the guidance of her parents, “If Home Was Home” looks outward, documenting the context of her upbringing. 

A residence artist at Bakehouse Art Complex, Polissaint is represented by Spinello Projects. Of her work, she explains: “Utilizing photography, textiles, and community engagement, my practice reflects the world through my black, queer, Haitian lens — moments between sheets, a neighbor walking past, a lovingly prepared meal shared with friends and strangers. Through reflections on personal experiences, be it loneliness, injustice, heartbreak, or the ephemeral, intangible feeling of a light breeze or a break in the ocean, it is my hope that my work connects to the broader and unifying experience of being human.”

See more from “If Home Was Home” below!