KEVIN BOYLE: HERD

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Kevin Boyle, "Cattle Call & Seven Cowboys," 2015

archival inkjet photograph mounted on Alupanel, 24" x 32"

Within the confines of a farmers field, the animals naturally form a hierarchy of responsibility in the herd. We, Boyle argues, also live in a controlled environment, and assume our own conditioned roles in society, though the controls are much less obvious than a barbed wire fence. 

The artist points to the news, social media, religion, and politics - forces which inform our core opinions and beliefs through speculation and sensationalization, not necessarily fact. These inferences cloud our ability to look at the world objectively, and drive us in the opposite direction of independent thought. 

Boyle asserts that the critical difference between people and animals is that we have a choice to separate from the herd or at least recognize its existence. “We can choose to see the world as it is, and how different it is from what we see on television or the Internet. We can choose to be respectful and responsible. We have the ability to be increasingly aware of the barbed wire fences that guide our thoughts and values.”

About Kevin Boyle 

Kevin Boyle is a Vancouver based artist who lives and works in White Rock, BC. His latest series "HERD" is the culmination of three years and thousands of miles of travel. While his previous exhibitions "Range" and "DaySleeper" examined nostalgia and abandon, his new work reflects his growth as an artist and an individual increasingly aware of social influence. Combining the long exposure and light painting techniques which have come to define his work, Boyle spent hours and sometimes days roaming with the herd until the right moment came to open his shutter and shine his lights. A winner of the International Photography Awards (2015) and the Fine Art Photography Awards (2015), his works can be found in collections across North America and Europe.