Jeff Roland believes that his art, which emerges from the subconscious, should not be defined according to the expectations of the modern art world. Instead, it is a personal interaction between artist, canvas and viewer. A self-taught painter, Roland’s work is characterized by his use of distinctive, tribal-like figures, a juxtaposition of opposing symbols and flattened backgrounds. His paintings fuse aspects of the raw style with contemporary literary and visual references. A number of key themes can be identified in Roland’s paintings. These include belonging (as an artist and individual), interconnectedness and conformity. He is also fascinated

by the creation of history. The consumption of one society by another appears repeatedly in his body of works.Roland’s paintings stress that “civilization” is built on the fragments of older, arguably more primitive societies. This is used as a psychological metaphor where civilization acts as the rational conscious usurping the place of the more primitive subconscious thought. The subconscious/conscious struggle depicted throughout Roland’s work highlights another core aspect of his paintings. He constantly explores dualism and the individual’s attempt to define his place within a world of opposing forces. The polarities embedded in his paintings take many forms and include light and dark, ignorance and knowledge, the individual and the society.