Amanda Acker's paintings explore what it is to be a human in relationship with one’s immediate surroundings. Working from personal photographs, memory, and life, Acker’s work feels both intimate and relatable. The lack of hierarchy between object, plant, animal, human, and landscape honors all as interconnected and deserving attention. Through the time given to building up a painting, her work invites the viewer to look closer at what might have otherwise been thought ordinary. Acker is a self-taught artist living and working in Onekama, Michigan.