jamil baldwin

Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

Artist statement

My practice assumes the role of interlocutor between place and communal memory. Through sculpture and photography, I examine how values of care are formed, sustained, and sometimes contradicted by the social systems of “order” that govern our everyday life. My work explicitly engages the realities and concerns of my neighbors, family, and locale. Currently, my practice asks how we construct memories and the capacity of those constructions to perpetuate values and practices. The images included here are part of a speculative public installation of my project "Fieldnotes on How to Construct a Residence with what Remains." Thresholds were temporarily dispersed across UCSD's campus and a pair of "Security" pieces closed off the entrances to some of the campus galleries, before their eventual return to my neighborhood, Leimert Park Village. In the spirit of the hyperlocality of the city, wherein dynamics shift from street corner to street corner, I decided to start this project with my immediate neighbors. My discussion with them explained how I believe that part of what continues to draw people to Leimert Park is the camaraderie and active engagement in and around the village. Personally, there’s an energy that I encounter daily through their presence. So I asked if they would be willing to share how they spend their time at home that allows them to show up for me and others in the way they do—were there items, practices, people, or something else they consider sacred or that...

Artwork

• Untitled (Leimert Park Tree), 2026. metal, eye viewers, slide film
• Security I, 2026. reclaimed window frame, wooden fencing, found security electronics and wires
• Security II, 2026. reclaimed window frame and wooden fencing, digital print
• The neighborhood: Jonathan and Keith (living room), 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• The neighborhood: Ashley Younniä, 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• The neighborhood: Drew and Analena with Jasiri and Hopeton, 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• The neighborhood: Ms. Walker's former apartment building being renovated after she was evicted, 2026
• The neighborhood: La Nola Smith, 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• The neighborhood: Elijah Carter-Hays, 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• The neighborhood: Eric Ramsey, 2026. wood, cement, stucco, iron, wheat pasted print on castor wheels
• these perennials don't bolt, 2024. found plant holder, dog tag chains, eye viewers, slide film
• the continuum of something that no longer exists, 2024. c-print
• into the ino, 2023. roofing cement, wood, metal, mordençage process on found silver gelatin print
• tenacity I / for Jabari Benton, 2023. silver gelatin print in water
• Tenacity II / For Jonathan “Johnny Hash” Sandoval-Aleman, 2023. silver gelatin print left in water
• Tenacity III // For Millard “Pooter” Frazier, 2023. silver gelatin print left in water
• Tenacity IV // For Olivia “Olee” Lee, 2023. silver gelatin print left in water
• Tenacity (n.): the determination to continue, 2023. silver gelatin print left in water