Syntax Loops from the Archive: 2003/2004 Sketchbook Pages Resurface
Some images don’t resurface by accident.
This past week in Brooklyn, I unearthed a forgotten folder of images / photos I had taken of a sketchbook from 2003–2004. I must have rediscovered the sketchbook years ago, captured a few pages on my phone, and buried them again. Until now. What I found felt like a broadcast from my former self. Clear. Bold. Direct. Each line a message. Each figure a frequency…
The aesthetic is unmistakable: pure line energy, unbroken contours, minimalism in motion. These were the early experiments, drawn quickly, intuitively, and often in one continuous stroke. The lines weren’t just form; they were time signatures. Movement made visible. Code disguised as gesture. Looking now, it’s obvious these works were the seeds of something that matured over the last two decades.
These very lines evolved into the sculptural forms I’ve now installed in multiple locations, including Starbucks for their Seattle Headquarters. The way a single line wraps around a body, the way curves create volume and space without shading, these sketches were the foundation of that vocabulary. The sculptures are these figures, lifted off the page, given dimension and materiality. The past became form.
And then there’s the airplane.
A hand-drawn screen printed aircraft silhouette, paired with abstract glyphs, movement and pattern language. One version is silkscreened on denim. The other glows in flat color against neon green. These aren’t just images. They are signals. Symbols of movement, of dreams in flight. I’ve always been deeply inspired by the act of travel. Not just the destination, but the experience of transit, transition, and expansion. These airplane images feel like an early creative prophecy pointing toward the travel partnerships I’m manifesting now. Im a fan of Delta Airlines and Marriott, brands built on experience and momentum. The syntax was always there.
The collage piece in this series stands apart as a constructed visual interface, integrating layers of meaning through physical materials and coded language. Using a Mead “12 Schedule” notebook cover as its base, it features red marker tally bars, translucent acetate overlays with reversed typography, a water fountain label reading “Halsey Taylor,” and the handwritten graffiti tag “SLOW03.” Unlike the fluid single-line figure drawings, this work speaks to structure, systems, and the shaping of identity within time-bound frameworks. It feels like a metaphysical inventory, blending schedule, location, and glitchy syntax capturing the essence of an artist navigating institutional spaces while asserting authorship. As a visual precursor to the Reality Engine and AREMES, this collage is an early experiment in UI-building, reflecting how language, time, and form converge to create not just art, but architecture for storytelling and transformation.
I’m archiving these images under a new collection, which may soon become Vault 03 (or something else). They belong to a lineage of creation I’m ready to honor publicly. I may even remix these drawings into animated forms, AR overlays, or future sculptural prototypes. The timeline folds in on itself. And the signal is strong.
The spray paint-only page acts as a meditative pause within the archive, perhaps? A quiet yet expansive field of texture and light. With no representational form, it invites the viewer to simply feel. The misty gradients and layered shimmer suggest breath, atmosphere, and the unseen architecture of emotion. It’s a moment of abstraction that balances the more figurative works, offering a sense of space, mood, and quiet depth, a grounding background to the entire visual narrative. The absence of scent also plays a role as we all know how potent the smell of aerosol spray paint can be..
More to come!
