Interrogation by Ricky Romain (2005 oil on canvas 178cm x 176cm)
The Conscious and Unconscious Embrace by Ricky Romain. (detail)
I would like my work to stand as a lasting declaration of my abhorrence towards torture and brutality, and for the act of buying my work to be a gesture of solidarity.
Working with this subject matter does not come easily, any more than attempting to describe it does, yet I feel I have to face the stark fact of its existence.
It is also hard to acknowledge that we are all living in a time when the cool epithet of ‘rendition’ cynically attempts to soften the realization of how ready the state can be to justify barbarism and inhuman suffering in the name of ‘security’.
‘It’s A Merry Go Round’ oil and Indian on Gesso on Canvas 164cm x 158cm. 2024‘Conscientious Objectors’ 159cm x 145cm. Oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas 2024. Ricky RomainFalling, by Ricky Romain (2001, oil and Indian ink on canvas, 198cm x 188cm,).In the Absence of Justice, by Ricky Romain (2006, oil on canvas, 189cm x 156cm,).On Route to No Man’s Land, by Ricky Romain (2001, oil and Indian ink on canvas, 180cm x 140cm,).Scared Memory Figures, by Ricky Romain (2007, oil on canvas, 186cm x 155cm,). Image used on cover of Human Security and Non-Citizens. Edited by Alice Edwards and Carla Ferstman. Cambridge University Press.Targets, by Ricky Romain (2006, oil on canvas, 183cm x 155cm,).Unsung Heroes, by Ricky Romain (2008, oil on canvas, 150cm x 102cm,).
The Conscious and Unconscious Embrace by Ricky Romain (2006 oil on canvas 217cm x 117cm.)
‘Slings and Arrows’ The title is taken from the quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet ‘Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune/ or to take arms against a sea of troubles. This quote from Hamlet’s soliloquy is in my mind a perfect metaphor for how a refuge or an asylum seeker could be feeling. oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas 92cm x 47cm 2023 Ricky Romain‘Slings and Arrows no 2. The title is taken from the quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet ‘Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune/ or to take arms against a sea of troubles. This quote from Hamlet’s soliloquy is in my mind a perfect metaphor for how a refuge or an asylum seeker could be feeling. oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas 170cm x 128cm 2023 Ricky Romain
Manifesto for the Disappeared by Ricky Romain (2012 oil and Indian Ink on canvas. 160cm x 136cm)
A Poem for Franta Bass by Ricky Romain ( 2010/11 oil on canvas. 185cm x 160cm NFS.)
‘A broken heart in Exile’ by Ricky Romain oil on canvas. 184cm x 140cm. 2008/16
Visas and Borderlines by Ricky Romain. (2004/5 oil on canvas 166cm x 89cm)
‘Ghetto Theater’ 2 oil by Ricky Romain. (Oil and Indian Ink on Canvas. 160cm x 143cm. 2008/17
Ghetto Theater 2 detail by Ricky Romain.
‘In the land of the Blind’ by Ricky Romain. oil in canvas 177cm x 107cm. 2008/17
Hieroglyphics for the 21st Century oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas. 190cm x 170cm 2017
Hieroglyphics for the 21st Century by Ricky Romain oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas detail
Hieroglyphics for the 21st Century by Ricky Romain oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas detail
Hieroglyphics for the 21st Century by Ricky Romain oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas detail
Hieroglyphics for the 21st Century by Ricky Romain oil and Indian ink on gesso on canvas detail
In Memory of Daniel Pearl by Ricky Romain 2002/3. 173cm x 132cm. (private collection)
