Misaligned
"Misaligned" explores the uneasy moment when something inside an otherwise familiar world refuses to fit. Across the series, A.LaB uses optical illusion, visual distortion, restricted palettes, and deliberate anomalies to isolate figures who seem out of step with their surroundings. Influenced by cyberpunk, early digital aesthetics, and the visual language of glitches, the work examines individuality, alienation, perception, and the tension between belonging and standing apart. Each piece asks the viewer to notice what feels wrong, then consider whether the problem lies with the subject, the system around them, or the way we are looking at both. In "Misaligned," being out of place becomes less a flaw than a form of conviction. Standing apart can be difficult and isolating, but when conformity means accepting what feels wrong, misalignment can become an act of strength.
404: HumANITY nOT FOUND
18" × 24" | Acrylic on Canvas Board
"404: Humanity Not Found" uses the familiar language of a computer error to explore the uneasy boundary between human emotion and an increasingly digital world. Painted entirely in shades of green, a distressed figure appears trapped within the glow of a retro computer screen, introducing something deeply human into an environment that feels mechanical, controlled, and slightly unreal. Part of A.LaB’s "Misaligned" series, the piece asks what happens when technology becomes so embedded in our lives that genuine human experience begins to feel like the glitch in the system.
I dont belong here
18" × 24" | Acrylic on Canvas Board
"I Don’t Belong Here" considers what happens after a soldier returns home from service and discovers that the role he devoted himself to no longer has an obvious place in civilian life. Inspired by A.LaB’s "Invisible Man" series, the piece shifts the question of visibility from the battlefield to home, exploring the alienation that can follow sacrifice when society struggles to understand, value, or make space for the person who returns. Part of the "Misaligned" series, the work asks what we owe people who have given so much for others, and what it means when coming home does not necessarily mean belonging.
One in a million
12" × 16" | Acrylic on Canvas Board
"One in a Million" places a single red figure within a tightly packed crowd rendered in blue and black, using contrast and optical repetition to make individuality impossible to ignore. As the surrounding figures move together, one person turns back, creating a subtle disruption in the pattern and raising questions about belonging, conformity, and the courage it can take to move differently from everyone around you. Part of A.LaB’s "Misaligned" series, the piece asks whether standing out is a sign that something is wrong, or evidence that someone has noticed what everyone else has missed.
Human
9" × 12" | Acrylic on Canvas Board
"Human" reimagines the visual language of the U.S. flag through a distinctly digital lens, replacing the stars with binary code that spells out the word human. Inspired by "404: Humanity Not Found," the piece considers what it means to remain an individual within a country and broader systems that increasingly reward conformity, predictability, and fitting neatly into established patterns. Part of A.LaB’s "Misaligned" series, the work also reflects on creativity in an AI-driven world, asking what becomes more valuable, or perhaps more necessary, about human expression as technology becomes increasingly capable of producing alongside us. At its center is a deceptively simple question: in systems designed to categorize and standardize us, what does it mean to remain unmistakably human?