Melissa Simpson: SATIN
Feb 22 - Apr 5, 2025 

Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia is pleased to present SATIN, a solo exhibition by photographer, writer, and multimedia artist, Melissa Simpson opening on Saturday, February 22, and running to Saturday, April 5.

SATIN is a reimagining of the hipster/indie sleaze era of the mid-2000s to early 2010s that pays homage to the Black women who helped to define the era. Rife with emblematic ephemera from the time, SATIN envisions a world where the creative and trendsetting nature of Black women is celebrated while also investigating the significance of fabric in fashion, culture, self-expression, and liberation.

The opening reception will take place on March 13 during Second Thursdays at Crane Arts and will feature a live DJ set from John Morrison who will play the music that defined the decade long span of the Indie Sleaze era.

Melissa Simpson is a self-taught photographer, writer, and multimedia journalist based in Philadelphia. Her journey into photography began with concert coverage to complement her arts and entertainment reporting. Passionate about street photography, she captures the beauty of everyday urban life, from human activity to the interplay of light and industrial structures.

Recently, Simpson has explored portraiture, creating narrative-driven image suites that delve into the human experience, often incorporating multimedia elements like music and writing. To expand beyond the digital realm, she embraces public wheat-paste installations, making her work more accessible and tangible.

In addition to photography, Simpson creates mixed-media collages that incorporate paint, metal, gemstones, and found objects, adding a meditative, hands-on dimension to her art. She also produces prints of these collages for wheat-paste installations, further bridging digital and physical spaces.