Borish of TYS @ Berkeley Tech HIgh School

Last week Borish (Mincho Vega) did a mural at Berkeley Tech High School for their Beats Rhymes & Life after school program.

Photos by Leo Docuyanan


Photo by Borish (sorry for the patchwork. the room was small.)



Thank you Tomas, Wonway, & the staff @ BTech.

Yoshi in Chile

Hello Folks,

Landed in Santiago, Chile and it has been non stop from the moment I hit the ground. I am being hosted by my friend, Cekis, an amazing painter and by the word on the street one of the most famous graff writers in Chile. You would never know by his humble demeanor, but no doubt he is a beast with paint...

The first wall, I climbed down into a ravine where it is like a painters dream. Huge walls, shade, no one to bother you.... and the river running behind. Climbing down was a challenge because it was like 30 feet down from the street level so even with a super tall ladder one still needed to rope climb down about 10 feet. This was definitely scary for me, but with a little persuasion I made it down this rope with my T-rex arms. It was nothing to the guys..



Below is a photo of the piece Cekis and his crew (Horate, Grin and Rick) did together. They are considered the premier collective in Santiago for graff. There probably isn't a Chile graff book that they aren't in. Graff in Chile really blew up during the 90's... before that folks were writing political messages on the walls but doing Pieces came later. Their murals are impressive not only in size but in precision and detail. This one doesn't reflect their mural collaboration style but was more of a fun and quick piece. The mural isn't finished at this stage. I still need to return to get a final picture...



There are a few things I have learned from being in Santiago. Everyone's characters are animated and their own. Folks are pushing limits with perspective and creating their unique style. In addition, I am getting schooled on mixing cans, stretching paint, and taking the pressure out of the can by holding it upside down for can control and fine lines... I gotta say I got mad respect for folks out here, some do whatever they can to just paint... even if they have a lot or a little materials folks make it happen. Young guys are not only tackling huge walls by themselves, but whole building. All of this has put much into perspective for me.

So here is the first collaboration I was lucky to be a part of in Santiago, Chile. It is in a area called Barrio Bellavista. It is right down the street from the BOMB Gallery. The graff gallery that has over 5 rooms and two stories all dedicated to graffiti.



This is a collaboration between: Cekis (Chile), Cern (NYC), Dacot (Chile), and Yoshi (LA). Hope you enjoy... Tomorrow we take off to Valparaiso... sounds like painters paradise. It is another city an hour and a half away where graf is supported and it is by the beach... I may never leave....


Click to enlarge.
Cekis, Cern, Dacot and Yoshi

Much love to all... I will keep in touch...

Yoshi
Trust Your Struggle Collective

Erin (Yoshi) in Santiago, Chile

Ladies and Gents,
We are proud to say that Yoshi aka Erin is safe and warm in Santiago, Chile where she will be staying for a minute and working with our folks CEKIS. Since she is not the best at keeping up with updates, we will do it for her. This just in from an email. Enjoy and pictures will come soon.

Love and Machetes
TYS Brooklyn


Santiago is amazing.  They are doing great stuff around graf here.  Man everyone is killing it with their crazy style.  It is very unique because everyone has their own style to do a character... most things are very cartoonized but with super skill.  So a bug is a super dope animated bug...nothing really realistic that I have seen.  Only a few people do it here.   And since walls are pretty easy to get people are doing humongous walls by themselves... even young guys...It is pretty impressive.

I didn't realize Cekis, Nelson, is like one of the most famous graf painter's in Chile.  That he is known as like the a super dope old skool writer because graf came about in his generation.  So he is super respected...  It is funny because he is so humble that you would not know.  I mean I knew he was super talented but it is just so cool to see the city support for the arts and his crew.  They have districts where every building has graf and today we went by a graf gallery that was two stories and each room was covered with pieces from folks from all over.  It is called BOMB and it says just covering the entrance for the whole two stories in black and white.

We are going to paint a piece a few doors down from the gallery.  It is someone's house but they gave us permission to paint it.  The wall is nice...

There are two things that have really impacted the way that I am thinking about my own work.  1) if you hold the can upside down for a few seconds like 20 sec or more.... the pressure is released so it sprays much more in control and smaller.  So folks here are using fat caps like skinnies by controlling the pressure in the can.... that was tight... shit they got lines so small they look like the super skinnies made with the top of the can.

2) People hella paint recessed... well it has been the most impressive thing I have seen.  People paint hella scenes in scenes by having them push back example... a fake bridge in the horizon and then a scene under the bridge... super detailed... but paint it pretty quick...I have seen other painter's do it but man they are doing it super dope.

Anywho I am well.  We start our wall tomorrow.  I am pretty nervous.  I came home today and sketched out my idea... I actually sketched... I am nervous cause you guys aren't here with me.  Who is going to tell me when my proportions are off or that I am using too many colors....who will make fun of my apron... well they probably will... but it is not the same....   Basically I miss you guys and I super thank you guys for teaching me so much...

I will be in touch soon...

E