Quamaine Giles
Quamaine Giles, a Multi-Disciplinary Artist, creatively works in abstract painting, tattooing, and custom framing. His work is concentrated on the intersection between people, our planet, and “trash.” His paintings consist of acrylic paint, reclaimed paper, magazines, cardboard, oil pastels, fabric, and sawdust. He constructs these paintings from fragments of found material—objects often discarded or deemed useless—ultimately creating his own paper medium to paint on. Through bonding, cutting, and tearing the repurposed materials, he creates irregularly shaped paintings that are the antithesis of the standard square canvas, giving them a distinctive appeal. His bodies of work ignite social conversations about what is deemed beautiful.
“My work is steeped in symbolism: the usage of excess materials from his daily life to create something new and beautiful represents the ability we all possess—“to use what is at our disposal to create new opportunities and second chances.”
I define an artifact as an object with a soul and essence. This perspective challenges the traditional view of artifacts as mere historical elements. “ - Quamaine Giles