It’s July, and we’re thrilled to welcome Melissa Guion as our Artist in Residence this month!

She is a musician, graphic designer, radio DJ, and multidisciplinary artist from New Orleans, LA. We at SHE were drawn to her expressive sampling in graphic design and music, as well as the textured aesthetics of her cassette and LP release packages, so we’re claiming her as a fellow visual artist!

Guion makes music under the moniker MJ Guider, performing nationally and internationally, and releasing music on Kranky, Constellation Tatsu, and most recently modemain - an imprint she launched to serve as a conduit for future collaboration and collective contribution as well as her own music releases through multimedia editions. She founded the experimental radio program Night Gallery on WTUL and produces visual work across a variety of mediums.

Recent modemain release covers designed by Guion — *Recent* *modemain* *release covers designed by Guion*

In Guion’s words:

Just like my background and interests are scattered across a wide field but are connected by common threads, so too is my aim for the work I put into the world. I always look to incorporate hand-derived elements in my practice, and will often take complex and meandering paths to get from point A to point B just to see what happens and if there are any interesting mistakes to be made along the way.
To serve a scattered body of work, the new imprint modemain is based on a model of sustainability that opens the door to unlimited possibilities for any one "release" to live multiple lives in numerous formats - to be iterated upon, expand, change hands, and evolve over time.
My biggest influences range from trashy movies to mid-century Japanese advertising. Across all my work I’m keenly interested in contrasts and draw upon the wide open spaces left when diametric elements are presented alongside each other, leaving a feeling that is often as familiar as it is unsettling.

✹ Visit us here each Friday in July for updates on her current projects ✹

Recent modemain release insert designed by Guion — *Recent* *modemain* *release insert designed by Guion*