Michelle Strzelczyk

RS: In what ways have you experienced touch, or how has touch changed for you through the pandemic?
MS: I feel like I took hugs for granted. I recently hugged my friend group for the first time in a year and I cried because it felt so good.


RS: How do you define and or understand resilience as it relates to owning an identity that is marginalized? 
MS: Being able to survive.


RS: How does Austin play a role in your experience of touch and or resiliency?
MS: Austin has been monumental for me. I grew up in a low income household and was lucky enough to have a family acquaintance who really encouraged me to go to college and helped me find my way. Throughout my years here I have experienced touch in the most beautiful way and the most traumatizing. I feel like to survive in Austin, for me, my resiliency has come in handy.


RS: What was your experience in creating your skin prints?
MS: It was meditative.


RS: Where on your body did you choose to create your prints from? Why were/are these spots important to you?
MS: I chose my left upper arm for the first print - when I was 8 years old a nail dug into my skin and got infected and I have a scar there. I chose my right upper thigh for my second print - I have a mole on my right thigh and it is very unique - my first lover in my “adult life “ loved it so much and that area reminds me of her and it’s such a sweet memory but it also reminds me of a very specific memory of assault where I was aggressively grabbed on that same spot. It is happy and sad. 


RS: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your story?
MS: I am a 27 year old cis gendered queer woman of color. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas - both of my parents struggled with drug addiction and prostitution. I battled with self image, addiction, eating disorder, prostitution and identity crisis as I grew up as well. In 2015, I graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in English.