LOST BOYS
WHERE CAN BLACKNESS REACH
WAS BLACKNESS FIRST
CAN BLACKNESS BE WORN
WHERE IS BLACK ENOUGH
WHAT IS BLACK ENOUGH
WHEN IS BLACK ENOUGH
Kevin Claiborne is a conceptual photographer whose work engages viewers in critical self-reflection and collective examination of the Black experience. In his mural Lost Boys, the artist challenges established notions of cultural legibility and encourages viewers to delve deeper into the origins, embodiment, and sufficiency of Blackness, including its impact on mental health.
Superimposed upon text, the repeated face of an unidentified Black male youth takes center stage, sourced from a photograph captured in Harlem, New York during the early 1900s. The repeated image of the unidentified young boy carries a symbolic weight, representing not only the individual, but also a broader collective experience.
Painted in vibrant shades of blue and black, the boy’s direct gaze confronts the viewer while the repeated patterning and overlay of text pushes and pulls the colorful faces between differing levels of visibility.
Lost Boys is presented by BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance, in partnership with NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program.