Incantation No. 1

Artwork is ready to hang - attached with velcro to wood hanger with D-rings and wire

I Seriously Exist.

Ignored. Overlooked. Forgotten. Invisible.

Emotional abuse can be difficult to recognise, and harder to reconcile. It is often silent and hidden from the outside world by its perpetrator. There are no visible scars to show tangible proof of an individual’s pain. Instead those who suffer are often left to feel they must fight their demons below.

For many years I carried the solitary pain of childhood emotional abuse, bearing the burden of it alone. However over time I found the outlet of my artistic practice gave me a way to express my mental health journey. Through my art I have been able to give myself a voice, and express my true self. I am no longer the invisible child that was ignored, now I Seriously Exist.

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Michelle Driver is a South Australian artist working exclusively in handwoven tapestry. Her practice is grounded in slow labour, repetition, and material discipline, approaching tapestry as a rigorous studio practice rather than a decorative craft.

Her work is shaped by queerness, neurodiversity, and lived experience of trauma, and often draws on gothic aesthetics and unsettling narrative. Through weaving, she explores shadow, memory, and the tension between obedience and refusal, revealing beauty within what is overlooked or difficult to name.

Driver’s work has been recognised nationally, including winning the 2016 Port Pirie Art Prize and inclusion in Radical Textiles at the Art Gallery of South Australia.