Maya Hayuk

"Our Wall Could Be Your Life"
40 feet - infinity
salvaged latex wall paint, big fat cheap brushes, some rollers






With collaborations from oliver halsman rosenberg, Elisita Punto, kyle ranson and momo...

"A blank, legal space to free flow on is lucky to come by. in the case of this wall, it's my friend's building which houses a bunch of artist and music studios, with lots of good vibes. whether i am making public work like this, or work in my studio, i think the through line is love and the notion of gift-giving/ letting go.

"Our band could be your life" are the opening lyrics of a really sentimental Minutemen song (History Lesson II) that's stuck with me since the first time i heard it. It makes me think about our shared personal histories and what we create that's our very own. a few weeks ago some hip hop musician was seen being photographed against this wall, thus making it as much his as anyone's.

Initially the colors were left over from other mural projects i had done and then everyone living in the big white building on N3rd/ Kent got evicted, so me and my friends scavanged all the paint left behind. i like the idea that the color palette was dictated by an experience, luck and happenstance rather than something too heavily thought out.

On a really base level, pyramids have plenty of symbolism. inverted they are the symbol for a vessel or woman and as the top of a "Y", they symbolize the tree of life. right side up they are male. by stacking them up and making them get smaller and larger, they remind me of volume controls or what sound potentially looks like going louder and softer. obviously, though, it's all open to interpretation.

It's an ongoing piece i started last summer (2005) and will continue working on as long as i can. it keeps growing, new people come and paint. it's heaven."

By Maya Hayuk
http://mayahayuk.com/

A little about Maya:
Where you live/work?
Brooklyn, NY and wherever i can go to paint a wall.

One thing that people don’t know about you?
I didn't speak english until kindergarten. my parents immigrated from ukraine and we only spoke ukrainian in the house. every saturday til high school i went to ukrainian school and every summer i spent at a ukrainian para-military scout camp where we learned guerilla war tactics and learned about ukrainian history and culture. the idea was to reclaim ukraine from the russians with the spirit of song and nationalism, not guns.