Redacted Topographies (Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin, 2025) are a series of abstract collages made using photographs to construct compositions centered on memory, loss, struggle and community.

As a photographer, Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin has received recognition from institutions such as Time Magazine, The New York Times, and most recently, the Los Angeles Public Library among others. His lens based work of the past 20 years revolves around documenting the urban landscape and neighborhoods of Los Angeles from a local perspective, driven by an innate drive to authentically portray the impact that gentrification and displacement have had on the city.

Over the past five years, a major change occurred in the artwork that Kwasi produces under the Nonstndrd Creative moniker.

He moved away from the character based ink illustrations that dominated his previous work and began using abstract, shape-based drawings as a framework to present his photography in a new way. Acting as both the collage artist and the photographer facilitated a deeper connection to his archive, enabling the exploration of specific personal and social themes. 

What initially began as a series of creative experiments has become the defining element of his artistic practice, unifying his work across mediums into singular expression. The finished works are called surveys, firmly planting the completed compositions in the recording and contextualization of life in Los Angeles.

The deconstructed photographs explore the complex network of people, lost structures, and communities lost to gentrification, displacement, and the passage of time.