Michael Williamson is a London-born artist. They studied fine art and design, graduating with a degree in Fashion Design from Northbrook College, Worthing. They went on to intern at Alexander McQueen’s diffusion line, MCQ, followed by work in the fashion industry as a stylist, including stints for London Fashion Week and at the National Portrait  Gallery, where he displayed one of his earliest installation pieces (in 2012) for the Gallery and Rankin. They continue to work in the fashion industry as well as creating YouTube Videos every Wednesday, profiling other artists and their shows to enable greater public access and discussions around art and culture.

Williamson’s work is themed around the lunar cycles, nature and the questioning of their experiences, opening their ‘life journal’ with the intention of exploring possible connectivities with feelings and personal journeys of others, particularly concerning artistic expression and appreciation and the healing power of both.

In 2023, Williamson went on a journey of self-discovery around their gender identity, coming out as non-binary - “I always knew I was gay but never felt my view of a gay man fit with the norm. I realised I was neither a he or a she.” Their work over the past two years has shined a light on this second coming out and the finding of a happier place in life and in their Queerness. The Roads We Travel Together continues in the same vein, utilising traditionally ‘masculine’ mixed-media and oil paints with more ‘feminine’-identified practices of Palo Santo, needlework and watercolours to interrogate the wounds of homophobia and the transformative powers of friendship, love, healing and the discoveries made along the way during life’s journey.

Opening times: West Norwood Picturehouse | West Norwood Cinema | Showtimes

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