It’s All in the Name
Soniei, (pronounced sO.nE.A) or ソ ニ エ イ in Japanese katakana, was a name given to me when living in Japan to facilitate such things as signing contracts and banking.
I still go by the name Soniei when I represent myself as an artist or anything dealing with the media. Why you might ask?
To keep a long story short…
A particular guy, whom I did not want to keep in touch with (a nice way to say ’stalker’), was able to locate me successfully around the world, for years, just by searching my real name on the internet. In using an alias since 2004, I’ve gained much needed personal privacy and safety.
I would really appreciate for those who know my real name to keep it on the down low.
Here’s a video of me, Soniei, trying to explain the evolution of my art and the inspiration behind my contemporary paintings.
This video includes a brief explanation of how I left the 9-5 work world to live my dream as a full-time artist.
I also share a few pictures of my original paintings, including my Japanese calligraphy art and other Zen inspired paintings.
Tags: About Soniei, Canadian Artist, Contemporary Artist, Internet Safety, Japanese Name Katakana, Pen Name, Soniei Name
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
OMG… that is crazy Soniei. I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. Makes me think about whether or not I should change my name to “just some guy” (which seems to have more meaning than “Jared”).
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
That’s pretty interesting because I’ve been nervous about using my real name on the internet as well (though not for the same reason). I hope that you’ve been left in privacy so far.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Hi Soniei,
What a creepy story! Why can’t folk just leave the hell alone and ahve some dignity?
I’ve stalked you a little bit though – I followed you from Jared’s Face Book
. I’m an artist too who also lived in Japan. Your work looks fantastic and well done for making it your career.
Emsk