ROMAINE MCNEIL

ARTIST BIO

Romaine McNeil, is a Jamaican-based artist who uses brushstrokes, palette knives and enigmatic concepts to transcend ordinary thinking and emotions into powerful and provocative images on canvas. Originally from the Westmoreland, Jamaica, she spent most of her free time drawing and sketching on walls, paper and whatever other surfaces she found that would offer her the opportunity to make a mark. Her younger days saw her exploring landscapes and seascapes that was more geared towards sharpening her technically ability than exploring elaborate concepts. After high school she enrolled in the Edna Manley School of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica where she studied sculpture. Even though she has never truly explored a career in sculpture, her paintings do carry a more 3-dimensional feel to them. But her love for painting gave her the means to create powerful visual narratives that were often times a blend of joy and sorrow. Her need to explore the depths of the human psyche transcended traditional stylesas she matured and this allowed her the freedom to explore without boundaries, true self-expression.

Art and the process of creating has long been a part of her everyday life. She invites viewers to journey through the flow of emotions and ideas that stem from the subconscious; which challenges us to explore the poetic and sometimes raw nature of human existence. Her artwork embodies the intricacies of human connection, stripping away the distortion of everyday life to reveal the untaintedtruth of what lies beneath.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am driven by a deep desire to break from the constraints of conventional thinking and perspectives and to explore what it truly means to be vulnerable. My work is portal, a visual language that opens up the floor for us to question our own preconceptions about life and truth. The ability to create enables me to embrace the limitless potential of my imagination as is reflects and confronts the unexpressed truths of our reality. We all have stories; we all acknowledge life in a different way and I get to explore so much more of that in a meticulous and sometimes obsessive way. We lay ourselves bare, confronting and embracing our authentic selves. We strip away the masks and pretenses and allow the canvas to be our mirror. There is liberation and empowerment in this genuine self-expression and this creates the connection to others, allowing them to share their stories, strengthening the bond of our daily experiences.