REDLINED LA
Inkjet photo prints & cardstock6” x 4”
2018
The Redlined LA postcard series documents Los Angeles neighborhoods that have historically suffered from redlining, leaving black communities in Oakwood, Hollywood, Leimert Park, Westlake, and Boyle Heights unable to build housing equity or able to rely on basic social services. These neighborhoods now exist in a state of fraught transition, as the future of once underserved communities lay in the hands of real estate developers.
In an attempt to draw attention to the absurdity that is the cycle of hegemonic divestment, withholding, and reinvestment—Redlined LA subverts the postcard’s function as a place selling strategy to remind viewers of the racist policies that have shaped the landscape of Los Angeles.
These postcards are both an examination of postmodern real estate development and a celebration of the communities that have consistently built vibrant spaces and informal solutions despite systemic oppression.
The cards are to be distributed to community organizations and their members. Writing letters addressed to development companies, city council members, and city planners—the messages activate the postcards from passive objects into empathic ephemera.