Y A N K E E   L O N D O N  S T U D I O

Musings from a Yankee artist abroad in London...
Obsidian Mirror
Picture
The picture was taken at the British Museum, you could even say there is a self portrait. Most recently I have been thinking about obsidian mirrors, palimpsests, and reflecting pools, as these three examples have a sort of temporal and spatial dissonance in common. Viewers looking at a mirror or reflecting pool see both themselves and the surface of the object, including scratches and marks created over time that imprint over or under the reflection. The viewer’s reflection is captured in the present, alongside the marks that evidence the past—the history of the mirror itself is separate from the viewer’s current reflection, resulting in an intersection of time, the material presence of a frame, and a relationship to space. The question of contemplation is the basis for establishing and grounding my research, but the trajectories of that research are yet unknown.
November 2019
Romi Sloboda was born in the United States and spent her childhood living in both the United States and her mother's native city, Seoul, Korea. She studied printmaking at the Santa Reparata Graphic Arts Centre in Florence, and received her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from London Metropolitan University. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the United States as well as in Europe. She has been awarded residencies from the Cité Internationale des Arts Fondation in Paris, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Herekeke Arts Center in New Mexico. Romi currently lives and works in London, United Kingdom.