Unincorporated is an in-process body of work that considers the material and sonic rendering of a landscape. Exposed to grunge music (a mixture of sludge/doom/thrash metal and punk genres) like The Melvins and Bikini Kill, Simone explores the industrial history of Portland through metal as a vessel and music subculture. Simultaneously inspired by run-down stripmalls, basement house shows, gaudy concert halls, steel yards, convenience stores, laundromats and film noir; She connects the landscape through minor scales, which heavily
annotate grunge/sludge metal sound which sonically define the Pacific Northwest within her practice. Currently Simone’s research considers Barbara Strozzi, a 17th century composer who created without the support from the church, the royal family, or effectively, patriarchy as we know it. Simone places Strozzi’s most famous composition Che si puo fare? (What Can I Do?) in conversation with The Melvin’s Night Goat as a feminist reinterpretation of the inner workings of rage and resilience through non-linear time. Using photography, silkscreens and video, Simone explores the emotional gravity of her landscape of 82nd Avenue through music theory, steel and sound.
Simone Fischer (b.1991, Portland,OR) is a multidisciplinary visual artist who specializes in photography, alternative print process, historical archives, installation, sculpture, writing and performance. Simone holds a B.S. in Gender Studies & Philosophy at Portland State University (2013), and an M.F.A in Visual Studies at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in 2020. Her work has been shown across Oregon, her most recent solo exhibition OFFAL (2021) curated by Laurel V. McLaughlin at Astoria Visual Arts in Astoria, Oregon. She was the 2021 artist-in-residence at After/Time gallery in preparation for her solo exhibition, a sermon for crows (2021). Simone’s first solo exhibition was 213 at the Glass House Gallery at PNCA (2020). She has exhibited internationally at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany (2020) and attended artist residencies at Caldera Arts in Sisters, OR (2019). She has shown at The Center of Contemporary Art and Culture Gallery at PNCA (2020) and The Lodge Gallery (2018). She was the 2021 artist-in-residence in the Intermedia Department of Pacific Northwest College of Art of Willamette University where she also serves as an MFA student mentor and documentation studio assistant. Simone is the art director and still photographer on Daniela Repas’ feature film animation Pour the Water as I Leave, 2021; and photographer on Repas’ short film animation Dogs of Home, 2020. Additionally, Simone worked in the art department for Kelly Reichart’s upcoming film Showing Up, 2021; and as a set decorator for independent feature film How to be Human, 2021. Simone is the operator of Salvation Gardens, a food garden she runs with her family.
