Derek Raymond’s work is rooted in the physical language of cities, and examines how public space develops identity and subconscious meaning through constant change and human affect. Communication is introduced, removed, covered, forgotten, and reintroduced, forming compositions that are not planned yet hold structure, rhythm, and intention through everyday use and neglect. By reorganizing these found fragments into new forms, he isolates and expands the abstract qualities already present in the environment. This body of work studies the exchanges and visual conversations that live in public space, and the way our environment reveals itself through human action and inaction. It considers dualities such as time and place, presence and erasure, communication and silence, and the act of observing value where it’s commonly overlooked. The resulting collage and décollage works serve as portraits of cities and the environments that produce them.