universallyme, mixed media, 2021.
Artist Statement
Here I sit, writing to you on a fancy brick of refined oil, cobalt, aluminum, and sand. A fancy brick made out of rare earth: the kind over which wars are fought. And I am trying to find some way to explain to you that What I Do Matters.
Around the globe: more wars for more fancy bricks. (Never in USAmerica though. War’s only for the other countries, not here. Because we are exceptional. Unless we try to stop a pipeline. Or protect our water. Or protest peacefully.)
Never mind that all Earth is rare. Never mind that all life comes from Earth. That we walk around up here; rare and temporary. Acting like our only bones won’t be churned up with the passing of the tides, in the tilling of the soil.
It feels absurd to talk about my work in the midst of global ecological and socio-political collapse. But it is the nature of my work to talk about the collapse.
It is the nature of my work to reveal and attempt to heal intergenerational traumas within my being. On various scales, using a wide variety of traditional and found materials, I produce records of transient experiences and ancestral communications. The results are both excavations and maps. They are records of inner depths far more cavernous, more daunting, and more beautiful than could be contained in one imagination.
A lot of what I’m doing is trying to feel better in the midst of a world in crisis. To regulate my nervous system and liberate my body of as much distress and trauma as possible. To externalize as much as possible. To be available to serve the Greater Good.
I put my brain, my guts, my heart, and my soul into this art work. I heal with this art work. I record this life, one brushstroke and stitch at a time.
And in doing so: I change it.
I share this all with you, to invite you to delve a little deeper. Find the pain, and feel it. Find the wound, and heal it.
I can earnestly say, now, that What I Do Matters.
It matters to me.
youalwayshaveahomehere, mixed media, 2022.
Sarjé Haynes (b. 1986) (she/they)
Unceded Kalapuya Territory, Turtle Island (Oregon, USA)
Sarjé carries lifetimes of adventure and trauma in her body. They are a Spiritual Archaeologist. Locating, excavating, and healing deep, intergenerational wounds, requires tremendous patience and courage. And a willingness to try many methods, often more than once.
In doing this work, Sarjé creatively records the psychic, spiritual, and somatic healing experience as artworks. These works serve as records of inner depths far more cavernous, more daunting, and more beautiful than could be contained in one imagination.
education
2023 Critical Context, Contemporary Art Academy, London, UK
2023 Personal Practice, Contemporary Art Academy, London, UK
2021 School of Awakening, Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng
2020 Art of Flow (at Home), Gabbi Lancaster
2011 Watercolor Basics, Gitte Mohr
2008 Darkroom Photography, John Holmgren
2007 Acrylics and Abstraction, Della Conroy
2004-2008 University of Minnesota (undergraduate: History, English)
2000-2004 South St Paul High School, International Baccalaureate Honors
solo exhibitions
2023 Neural Magic: Remixed, Electric Lettuce, Eugene, OR, USA
2023 Neural Magic for Freedom and Fun, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2023 Neural Magic III, Center for Spiritual Living, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Neural Magic II, Community Cup Coffee, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Neural Magic I, Elev8 Cannabis, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Whiteaker Community Market, Eugene, OR, USA
2020 Color Into Darkness, Wonderland, Roseburg, OR, USA
2019 Downtown Street Faire, Roseburg, OR, USA
selected group exhibitions
2023 Parsing Reality, The Tabernacle W11, London, England, UK
2023 December, OSLP Arts & Culture Center, Eugene, OR, USA
2023 New Zone at the Airport, Mahlon Sweet Field, Eugene, OR, USA
2023 Zone 4 All, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2023 Unusual, The Holy Art Gallery, London, UK and virtual
2023 Kids Art Walk: Undiscovered Species, Make.Shift Art Space, Bellingham, WA, USA
2023 Last Friday Artwalk, Alluvium, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Tiny Treasures, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Zone 4 All, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2022 Pushing the Limits, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2021 Zone 4 All, New Zone Gallery, Eugene, OR, USA
2020 Transformations, Pennsylvania Center for Photography, Doylestown, PA, USA
2018 August Group Show, Knok-Knok Lounge, Roseburg, OR, USA
awards
2022 Certificate of Artistic Achievement, Luxembourg Art Prize
2021 Certificate of Artistic Achievement, Luxembourg Art Prize
catalogs, press, and publications
2023 Arts Journal, CTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO9FxJ92qLw
2023 Eugene Magazine/The Weekender, https://eugenemagazine.com/the-weekender/the-weekender-june-29-july-5/
2023 Eugene Arts & Business Alliance Catalog
2022 Eugene Arts & Business Alliance Catalog
2020 “The Messy Path to Happy Destiny,” Big Cartel: https://www.bigcartel.com/resources/blog/article/the-messy-path-to-happy-destiny
2015 GISHWHES in Images, Seventh Edition
2014 GISHWHES in Images, Sixth Edition
professional memberships
2023-Present International Association of Professional Writers and Editors member
2022-Present New Zone Gallery Collective, elected to Board of Directors in 2023
2005-2007 Prairie Renaissance Arts Alliance, student member of the Board of Directors
collections
Numerous private collections (USA, UK)
soremuscles, ink on printer paper, 2022.