We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Romi Myers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Romi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
My earliest memories of wanting to pursue a creative/artistic path occurred during my early childhood. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old…? I was obsessed with creating art, but also designing vehicles, planes, furniture, accessories, houses, etc. As I grew older, it morphed into all things art and design related. I originally wanted to major in fine arts, but decided to major in interior design instead since I was discouraged by so many to pursue an artist career, with the infamous, “starving artist” conversation. It didn’t feel good back then, but I am glad it happened this way as I have learned a great deal, better preparing me for my fairly recent transition.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Born in São Paulo, Brazil and of Japanese and Italian lineage, my artistic style is heavily influenced by Takashi Murakami and the Superflat Movement, which has driven me to incorporate vibrant colors and bold, cartoon-like imagery into my body of work. With my fascination with augmented reality as well as my advocacy for sustainability and environmental awareness, I’ve also become somewhat obsessed with the ability to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds in terms of how to incorporate an element of surprise and interaction with each art piece or experience I create.
My last corporate position as a Creative Director really burned me out to levels unimaginable. So when I was laid in 2020 due to the pandemic, I took it as a sign from the universe that it was time to apply everything I had learned during my 22 years corporate life onto my own thing – creating art with the intent of bringing environmental awareness and innovation into the contemporary art industry.
The overall vision for my body of work is to facilitate open and thought-provoking discussions about the nature of reality and how humans interpret it. This goal inspired the creation of “My Emojions” series, which explores the intersection between emotions and the ubiquitous emoji.
As an artist with synesthesia, my work also explores the ways in which sensory experiences can be intertwined and manipulated through art, ultimately promoting empathy, connection, and understanding while showcasing the beauty and complexity of the human experience through playful titles and tongue-in-cheek humor.
All my original pieces are carefully produced onto Archival Fine Art Paper, derived from bamboo, a commonly known rapidly renewable natural resource, and are individually stamped with a stamp reflective of my name in Japanese of which I hand carved myself. Last but not least, I also donate 10% towards planting trees for reforestation efforts, which I am very proud of.
A few things on my horizon that I am super excited and proud of are upcoming events in Miami during ArtBasel/Miami Art Week. My first group exhibition titled, “Human x Machina” will launch December 2, 2023, at the Miami International Fine Arts Center in Doral, FL, where curator, Luis Valenzuela, welcomed artists to explore our own interpretation of what it means to become and extension of a digital future. This event will feature approximately ten augmented reality experiences in varying degrees, intended to delight and surprise attendees as they walk throughout the venue.
My second event will take place the following week, from December 6 – 10 with Spectrum Miami, at Mana Wynwood in Miami, FL during ArtBasel Week where I will be one of three artists in attendance, as a confounding member of JDR Atelier. And naturally, I plan to have some augmented reality surprises in store for those who stop by our booth, 1016.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
Interesting you ask because I stumbled upon augmented reality while researching all the rage around NFTs. I would suspect that a vast majority of NFT projects are a pure bust, mostly because they sacrificed quantity over quality and fall short on delivering on their utility promises.
This being said, my observation of NFTs is that it is very much in its infancy stages, much like the internet was in the 1990’s for the general population. Back then everyone was curious, but no one quite knew how to utilize the internet just yet. Fast forward to today, and WEB02 has become an extension of our daily lives, if you really think about it.
I do see great benefits in the future around NFTs for the art industry itself. In my case in particular, for example, I currently offer the corresponding NFT to any original piece upon request, as an added certificate of authenticity, to further validate the art piece was created by yours truly. I would like to eventually make this offering a default in the future, but until the general public has a better grasp around the complexities of a decentralized autonomous ecosystem, gas fees, soft wallets, etc, it’ll take time for it to build momentum. The reason I decided to offer it as an added certificate of authenticity is because physical certificates of authenticity can be misplaced, destroyed, or even counterfeited, as opposed to a smart contract that is forever embedded within a blockchain. Will it work as I envision it? Too soon to tell, but in order to innovate, we must rely on the good old, “trial & error” method. If it works out, great, if it doesn’t I plan to move on and try something else.
I also understand there has been a narrative around environmental concerns revolving crypto/blockchain technology which is totally valid. But what I explain to folks often – if we were to look back 40+ years, our vehicles or home appliances were a far cry from being as efficient then as they are present day by comparison. So we must all be patient and give it time for it to mature itself.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Besides investing in a living artist’s art piece, as cliche as this may sound, the best way to support artists these days is to follow, like and share our stories on the variety of social media platforms available. It does truly help the algorithms when a person likes, follows, or shares any given post or story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mundodaromi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mundodaromi
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mundo-da-romi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mundo_da_romi
- Other: https://jdratelier.com
Image Credits
Romi Myers + Jessica de Vreeze