For Adam de Boer, textile processes become a means of navigating personal questions of place and inheritance. Combining traditional Javanese batik techniques with a Western painting lineage, his works frame moments in the cultural and visual landscapes of California and Indonesia, reflecting on the layered histories embedded within contemporary urban life – specifically in this series, Los Angeles. The painting Pigeons in Silverlake (2024) shows a quintessential Eastside LA neighbourhood. De Boer was on a walk along Sunset Blvd. a couple of years ago when a flock of pigeons became suddenly startled, took flight, and enveloped him. Hearing and feeling them so close made a big impression on the artist, and he was inspired to record those sensations in batik. The theme of humans sharing space with other species was on the artist's mind. Pigeons in cities are often seen as pests, but they stay close to humans because we bred them to be near us, serve us, and survive in our cities. We abandoned them but they haven't abandoned us.