Everywhere I'm From is Gone
Documentation, context, and interpretation
I'm currently working on a series of pieces for an upcoming exhibition titled "Neighborhood Studies". This will be the largest showing to date of the abstract, mixed media collage technique that I've been developing for the past 6 years. Combining my photography archive with my paintings has unlocked new ways of documenting and reinterpreting the urban landscape. Drawing from my own body of work allows me to focus on the places/neighborhoods that hold special personal and cultural significance.
As you probably know if you are a subscriber to this newsletter, I've been photographing the landscape here in L.A. for a long time. I built up a following by creating photoessays blending my documentary landscape work with the experiences I had growing up in the city.
One of those core experiences was my involvement in graffiti subculture during the 90's in Los Angeles. My current work combines all of the mediums, approaches, and techniques that I've mastered individually over the years.
The importance of the original photographs used in my collage work cannot be understated. Each piece starts with either a selection of photos or a trip outside with my Ricoh GR to create new ones. Themes vary from specific locations to a combination of areas connected by my personal relationship to them. To that end, sharing the original photos along with the final composition provides additional context to the finished work. Collectively they exist in a kind of conversation with one another, both as a record and recollection of the Los Angeles that shaped me.
"Vine St.". Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin, 2026.
11" X 14" wood panel.
Acrylic paint, ink, cut paper, and gel medium.
Inspired by my early childhood in Hollywood and named after my elementary school, this piece is centered around photographs connected to the idea of that place being the starting point for my understanding of Los Angeles as a place.
Source Photographs | "Vine St." 2026.
