Artist Kybor Carlsen's Journey

Background & Education

I trained at the University of the Arts London (UAL), completing a BA (Hons) in Fine Art: Print and Digital Media at Wimbledon College of Art (2007–2011), following a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design (2005–2007).

For thirteen years, I worked behind the scenes at London College of Fashion, UAL as a technician, supporting staff and students in developing and realising their creative work. The role involved problem-solving, technical knowledge, and collaboration across a wide range of practices and disciplines.

Leaving that position marked a return to my own studio practice and the development of KYBOR.

KYBOR is an ongoing exploration of connection and human behaviour through image, material, and dress. Across prints, garments, and artworks, the practice considers how we express, reveal, and relate to one another.

Where it all Began

KYBOR began with a simple request. In 2024, my partner James asked me to design a T-shirt he could wear for Pride, something that felt expressive, personal, and absent from what was commercially available.

The resulting design, inspired by the visual language of Tom of Finland and gay leather culture, drew an immediate response when worn publicly during Pride celebrations. Conversations emerged naturally, with people asking where the work could be found and how they could access it themselves.

That experience revealed a clear connection between the imagery, the audience, and the wider themes I had already been exploring through my studio practice: identity, desire, self-expression, and the ways people communicate through image and dress.

Several months later, KYBOR officially launched on 15 January 2025. Drawing on my background in printmaking and digital media, the practice continues to develop through wearable pieces and fine art prints that explore perception through body and material.

Sources of Inspiration

My work is shaped by observation of people, connection, and the environments we move through. Living in London, I have long been inspired by the openness, resilience, and individuality within gay culture and nightlife. These spaces reveal how identity, desire, and self-expression are often communicated through gesture, clothing, behaviour, and presence.

Nature is an equally important influence. I am drawn to its rhythms, tensions, and quiet balance, the way growth, movement, and adaptation exist together. These patterns often mirror the emotional dynamics I explore in the work: vulnerability and strength, exposure and protection, intimacy and distance.

From these influences, KYBOR emerged through both fine art prints and wearable pieces. Whether on canvas, paper, or fabric, the work explores how we express ourselves and relate to one another through image, material, and the body.

The Process of Making

My practice moves across painting, printmaking, design, and wearable forms. Like many independent artists, the process involves balancing creative work with technical, practical, and communicative roles.

Dyslexia and social anxiety have also shaped the way I work. They have made me more aware of perception, observation, and the complexities of communication - themes that continue to inform the practice itself.

I see print and design not simply as production methods, but as ways of extending the work into everyday experience. The movement between fine art and wearable forms allows the ideas to exist in both personal and public space.

Why I Create

My work explores the space between people - how connection is formed, negotiated, and understood through the body. I am interested in what we reveal, what we conceal, and how desire, vulnerability, and perception shape the ways we present ourselves to others. And how images can unsettle perception or create moments of psychological tension.

Rather than offering fixed meanings, the work aims to create moments of recognition and reflection. Across painting, garments, and print, each piece becomes part of an ongoing exploration of human behaviour, intimacy, and self-expression.

Looking Ahead

As the practice evolves, I am increasingly interested in how the work is experienced once it leaves the studio - how people interpret it, connect with it, or return to it over time.

KYBOR continues to grow as a space for open conversation around connection, perception, and the ways we relate to ourselves and others through image, material, and dress.

You can follow along and see the work evolve on Instagram @kyborlondon.