Contact: LMBowler@gmail.com

I am a photojournalist and artist living in the San Diego / Tijuana region.

My art makes use of the concept and technique of appropriation to explore the relationship between my photojournalism, my art making and myself. Appropriation, which means 'to make one's own', is a key strategy in contemporary art that involves the intentional reworking of borrowed elements. In my work, I often recycle and recontextualize pre-existing images that I made myself in my work as a photojournalist. Thus creating new artworks that challenge conventional assumptions about photography, photojournalism and its role in society.

Through the deliberate act of appropriation, I can disrupt the traditional boundaries between documentary photography and fine art, creating images that are beautiful, informative and subversive. My aim is to make use of self-appropriation to create images that resonate with viewers on both an emotional and intellectual level.

Ultimately, my use of appropriation is driven by a commitment to pushing the limits of what is possible with the medium of photography. By borrowing elements of my photojournalistic work, I am able to create new artworks that are both grounded in the history of art and relevant to the contemporary moment. My process of reworking and remixing challenges conventional assumptions about photography, photojournalism, and their roles in society, while also highlighting how each relates to questions of aesthetics and social justice.

In a rejection of traditional artistic conventions my work focuses on experimentation and innovation.  My abstract compositions created by manipulating light, shadow, and the hand-making of my “negatives” aim to help us think about where photography stands today as I build the images in a collage-like manner and make larger prints in a process similar to traditional photography practice, but with contemporary tools and techniques. 

Despite these postmodern tendencies, my work also has a strong grounding in realism because I self-appropriate from my professional photojournalistic work. Ultimately, though, my process is driven by questions of social justice and realism that brush these aesthetic questions against the grain.Thus grounding my work in realism, I ask what are sources and origins of our understanding of justice.

Photography today is a constantly evolving art form that has been shaped by both traditional and contemporary techniques. As an artist it is my responsibility to push the boundaries and challenge conventional thinking in order to create works that are not only visually stunning but also thought-provoking. My approach to photography allows me to do just that, as I weave together disparate elements from different sources in order to create a new and different way of seeing the world.