Merlin Ramos is interested in the observed space as the primary point of contact with the world. Once he has chosen the image, the place is open to spatial possibilities/explorations. What are the questions we ask ourselves when we see a bus stop for example. What does that particular place hold for you? For the next person it may be the first and last thing they see when they wake up and before they get home from work, whereas you or I may just pass by. Therefore, the study and production of work from the everyday can be a kind of reverential nod to the nuances of our exteriors and an investigation into what makes our spaces personal to us. The world viewed in this way becomes a place where the rules and norms are upside down, the aerials on houses can join the street or a bandstand may have a bookcase and bathtub inside it. The associations we make become the tools for exploration and lead the imagery.

The direct manner in which the paintings are executed reveals the process, exposes the workings and celebrates the very action of painting. The construction of space (exterior or interior) becomes a playful experience that could be considered architecture. The sketch books he produces are part of the development of this process. They are the blueprint for this architecture and a way of developing a language of the city.