About
Every story has it’s beginning.
The story of Romeo and Juliet, in the midst of chaos and strife, despite circumstances and with the odds stacked again them, their love bloomed. It is a story that shows love has no boundaries, knows no rules, listens to no-one, carving its own path. And though it speaks in whispers it carries the will and strength of the heart.
This classic romantic “us against the world” archetypal love would go on to inspire me in my quest to express words I never said, words I should have said.
Rebel Romeo started in Worthing as spray painted words to a lost love on a small unassuming section of wall opposite the Rose and Crown, Montague Street, “Montague” just like the surname of the famous Shakespearean character.
During this period I had been writing furiously on an instagram account, feeling trapped in a unhappy relationship, dealing with the loss my father and still hurting from letting go of the one person I wanted to run away with, the account became a daily diary of my downward spiral into despair and ego, a wound open to the world hidden only by the anonymity of the internet. I would end up writing this form of bad poetry almost every day for just under two years.
I wrote the words for her, but rather than post them in a letter, I thought it would make more sense to spray paint the words on the various walls of worthing and digitally on social media, yes totally makes sense I know…
But before this rather unsual behaviour could begin to accost the many walls of Worthing I needed a name, an alias behind them, and taking in to consideration the nature of graffitied words of love on public walls the name #RebelRomeo was aptly chose.
In the spring of 2017 armed with my new pseudonym I would select a few of the posts from my Instagram page to become stencilled artworks placed around Worthing, I was painting my feelings and thoughts in various locations in the hopes she might see them, read the words, feel the words and in a romantic twist not realise that they were for her.
All of this of course was just a well orchestrated distraction;
In this whirlwind period, despite falling in love with someone else I managed to double down in the relationship that I felt so trapped in by getting married, then pushing Juliet away (Not her actual name) by cutting contact, my father passing away shortly after, and then splitting from my new wife in less than a year.
It became a moment in my life of complete confusion, and conflicting feelings, dealing with the guilt of hurting the girl I loved by staying with someone I didn’t love, while simultaneously dealing with the guilt not spending more time with my father while he was alive, and of not making it to his side before he passed as well as the guilt of being the reason my children would grow up in a broken home.
In the end this all became more of an exercise of self therapy through expression rather than a means to achieve any sort of end goal scenario. I knew no matter what path I took I would carry regret somewhere, so throwing myself into this alternate character, this made up alter ego became my coping mechanism.
In hindsight I was the source of all my pain, and romantic escapism was my choice of painkiller.
Most of the garbage I spewed out during this period wasn’t note worthy, but there were some that stuck with me and still resonate to this day.
Rebel Romeo is now an expression of beauty that I find in the world, expressed through the medium of digital art and written words and a continuation of my growth as a person.
This website is an archive of those expressions, those thoughts, who I was, who I am, and the absolute madness of being alive.
P.s If you’re curious and don’t mind reading some terrible poetry the instagram handle is @wordsmith.a.r or for finding the remaining evidence of my escapades on the streets of worthing try #rebelromeo on instagram.
Yours sincerely,
A.J.R