Amya McMillan (she/her) is a mixed-media artist working across collage, painting, drawing, and fiber arts. Her layered, maximalist approach reflects her explorations of identity, particularly the complexities of being biracial, and the emotional contradictions that shape personal experience. Born in North Carolina and raised in New Jersey, she brings a background in neuroscience and psychology to her interdisciplinary practice. McMillan moved to Chicago in 2023 to pursue her master’s degree and continues to develop work that embraces ambiguity, hybridity, and the beauty of the in-between.
Before I knew what to call it, 2025, embroidery on denim, 5.5 x 5.75 in.
Waste more time, 2025, embroidery on denim, 4.5 x 5 in.
Don’t try, 2025, embroidery on denim, 4 x 4.25 in.
Unclench your jaw, 2025, embroidery on denim, 6.5 x 7 in.
I am, 2025, embroidery on denim, 6.25 x 6 in.
My work encourages viewers to participate in a continuous process of transformation, questioning what it means to be “finished”. At the heart of my practice is an investigation into the self and the tension between expectation and reality, questioning the dominant narratives around mental health, productivity, and identity in a neoliberal society. By altering my varsity jacket, a personal artifact and fragment of my adolescence, I have created alternative narratives and meaning.
Transparency was fully embedded into my research process, highlighting the chaos, disarray, and randomness of seemingly unrelated elements, and demonstrating how these pieces ultimately come together to reflect transformation. Central to my process is the shift from “I should” to “I choose to,” reclaiming agency in the face of a pervasive achievement culture and reframing what it means to be productive. Ultimately, my work answers questions that have no single answer; the answer is constantly evolving, so I make art in hopes of holding on to “truth” as it exists in a particular moment.