Sharon McNeil – Aghia Sophia
Oil
on Canvas
As a college student I
participated in a six month off-campus study program in Greece. This experience
left deep imprint on me, in part because it enabled me to gain a connection to
my heritage from my mother's side of the family. I am motivated by myths that
speak about the cycle of life, transcendence, and our human need to find a
footing and a purpose in our time. I fuse elements of past and present to create
a cyclical sense of time. I believe we are defined by our history while at the
same time cut off from it. This is especially the case in American culture where
most of us are descendants of immigrants. Detached from our roots, we have few
reminders of our history. This makes the past seem irrelevant to our lives.
History has its effect on us however; it seeps into our consciousness and moulds
our perception of ourselves. The paintings are openings through which past and
present can traverse, mingle and be transformed.
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