A portrait is an artistic representation of a person. Through history the nature of a portrait has changed from a direct depiction to a more abstracted representation. The artistʼs expression of the subject is the predominant and key feature of a portrait, yet with Urban Evolution™ PORTRAITS PROJECT Burton has challenged this notion. Typically an artist presents a portrait of a person as he or she sees him, but with ʻPortraits Projectʼ Burton is allowing the world to tell him how they see that person.

Urban Evolution™ PORTRAITS PROJECT is Burtonʼs own personal brand of street art where he posts a portrait around cities like New York, Paris, New Orleans, London, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles, after which he then photographs the evolution of the portraits on the streets by contributions from passer-bys, street artists and the weather. With this co-creation, the portrait is an honest and true reflection of the publicsʼ sentiment, and as Burton sees it, a conversation. Burton observes this on-going “dialogue” until he feels that the “exchange” has reached a state of accomplished maturity before deciding that the image is complete.

The finished works are reactive and spontaneous bodies of art that are dynamically vibrant and honest depictions of the subjects created by a collective effort and its unpredictable outcomes.