Lauren YS

A little more insight into the details woven into this piece at @aacc.yale : ~ Our initial discussions about developing the piece were all about representation, as my design was organized to only fit 2 characters to make the most use of wallspace. I asked if it was possible to plan some kind of community feedback sessions to interface with community members to get more voices involved. This process was deeply important as it reflects the larger conversation happening in the world about the asian-american diaspora at large: how it is not a monolith. There was a strong call for more representation of south and southeast asian elements, and we worked together on the high challenge of telling a story about the AAPI diaspora in one image. As an east asian artist I have always painted from my experiences, but was able to more authentically diversify as community members offered a wealth of input from their own personal experience. I am so grateful for this process as I think it mirrors the need for more diverse representation within all expressions of asian-american identity, and intend to carry it into all future projects. ~ Some additions from these sessions: books on feminist theory, Brahmic poetry, the AACC's magazine. "Easter egg" elements of inclusivity. Traditional dandiya sticks from south Asian dance peek out from the backpack. The textiles, jewelry, and dress evoke a wide array of cultures across Asia, including henna, an activity often offered by the AACC. A tape recorder, to record spoken history. ~ The hanging shoes call to mind the "shoe story," an important moment in the AACC's early history when students strove to create space for themselves on campus. Finding the need for more room, the students invited the president of Yale to visit and followed the traditional Asian custom of removing their shoes before entering the space. When the president arrived, there were so many shoes piled in the hallway that it became obvious that this community was much bigger than the space allowed, and this, in turn, convinced the University to upgrade the AACC's space allowances. The shoes act as a visual metonymy for the idea of "finding home."

📿꓄ꁝꏂ ꋬꋊꉔꏂꇙ꓄ꋪꋬ꒒ ꉔꋪꌦꉣ꓄📿 Mini-Doco (➡️Full Vid at link in bio!) @meow__wolf @meowwolfsantafe • Come with meeee to Chinatown LA to search for found objects, and to visit @peterlai_asian_village in his magical home!! Focusing on the symbology of my installation as an homage to queer ancestry, fluidity, care for elders and connecting with those we have lost. From the incredible @jilannspitzmiller who truly captured the many layers of intention in my process with great care and sensitivity, despite me being extremely uncomfortable behind a camera. • Thank you so much all involved in making this! @magicisrealism @jenab2 @alupovich @noor.un.nisa_ @inspirado.tv & of course my team @dumbbabyofficial @taramacaw @arts.and.disaster @theferrarigirl @sarah_sperling @robertyancy1 @zackfromwork @shanshankredemption , the MW team & @han.imal 🖤📿🎍 #meowwolf #houseofeternalreturn #laurenys #installationart

⛩️⚔️Onna-Bugeisha 女武芸者⚔️⛩️ Osaka 2022• @yodokabe with @bakibaking 🥷🏼 (Alt title: “edging”) Japan’s femme warriors, known as the onna-bugeisha, belonged to the bushi, a noble class of feudal Japanese warriors who existed long before the term “samurai” came into usage. This piece is an homage to history’s fiercest onna-bugeisha such as Tomoe Gozen, who was said to have fought an army of over 6,000 with only 300 samurai at the 1184 Battle of Uchide no Hama, and was one of only five people to survive; or Nakano Takeko, who led a group of femme warriors known as the Jōshitai. Nakano, who wielded a naginata, had a kill count of 172 samurai. The actions of Nakano and her band of fighters of the Joshigun are still commemorated today during the annual Aizu Autumn Festival. Every year in September a group of young girls wearing hakama and shiro headbands take part in the procession in their honor. 3 beautiful days painting at Yodokabe with such humbling support from the Juso community! I added sparrows per lovely request from locals as it is this street’s namesake. Can’t wait to see what @dragon76art and @gravityfreegram add to this wall! どうもありがとうございます @bakibaking @dragon76art @taaaaaa36 @rempei_90 @wallshare @redcarpet.rental_party Katsumi-San & families for all your kindness, support and generosity! So nice to travel w my mom @theferrarigirl & my love @misschristinewu , see sweet friends @emiriokamoto @froggie9goro again and find new family 🥰 And thank you to all who led me to connects for painting in Japan, i am so so grateful, y’all made my year & heart very full ⚔️⚔️⚔️

“Gruss Vom Krampus” White Rabbit Festival, Hartberg Austria 🇦🇹 🐇 Everything that frightens you has something soft underneath • Thanks mom for tolerating me with these krampus photos :) and thanks always @nychos and family for bringing us all together, your energy hospitality and love 🖤 best crew ever @onurpainting @treazytreaz @traveling_gypsy @seherone @smitheone @willis82 @dxtrtheweird • Extra thanks @ringkogelpass.hartberg @hartbergerland @montanacans @theferrarigirl @rabbiteyemovement_official @verasteinkellner Didi & family 🖤🖤🖤 man there are so many good Krampus songs

“Gruss Vom Krampus” (Greetings from Krampus) Hartberg, Austria 2024 🐇👹⛓️🔔 • Ever since i have known @nychos he has been telling me about the winter celebrations in his hometown of Hartberg, where they still observe Krampusnacht, a pagan winter ritual centered around the legend of the Krampus. Krampus is a fearsome creature with cloven hooves, dark fur, and ominous horns, who emerges from the shadows to terrorize the naughty children of the world. Krampus was seen as the antithesis of Saint Nicholas (or Santa Claus). While St. Nicholas rewards good children with presents, Krampus metes out punishment to those who have misbehaved, using chains or tree branches and clanging bells in the winter night. The name “Krampus” is derived from the Old High German word “krampen,” which means “claw.” December 5th became known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night. On this night, adults will dress as Krampus and roam the streets, terrifying children.. The following day, December 6th is celebrated as St. Nicholas Day, when good children receive gifts and sweets. Anyway, I love any rituals that blur the line between mythology and reality, so you know I had to do a Krampus piece .. This piece aims to capture the dichotomy between good and evil, light and dark evident in this ancient celebration, and the enduring power of folklore in the alpine region. I loved images like this as a kid- they taught me that things that inspire fear are often just a mask, and can host beautiful things inside if we choose to look closer. Huge thanks to Didi, Cora and family for welcoming me and my artwork! Little did I know the building owner sponsors a local Krampus troupe who were awesome enough to bring some of their masks (which are super cool, handmade) for me to play with 👹 @ringkogelpass.hartberg Can’t thank @nychos @rabbiteyemovement_official @hartbergerland @montanacans and family enough for such a fun time, my mom for helping out, such and epic crew of artists and a beautiful town. Hope to be back someday for Krampusnacht proper! #krampus #laurenys #rabbiteyemovement

Ciempiés Santurce 🇵🇷 🐛 idk why I love painting these so much, probably because so many people have serious ciempiés revulsion , also i have a kind of ocd where sketching 1000 legs only to realize i must now paint them makes me happy 🫠 or maybe that is kink idk • Gracias @spot.visit @elegel2.0 🖤 📸 @originalwinslow #laurenys

“BāZì no. 1“ (Four Pillars of Destiny) @mural_harbor Your Day Master: Yang Metal. The emotional arc associated with this element is courage, confidence and righteousness as well as grief, sadness and depression. Balanced between Yin and Yang. Self Punishment: two dragons: A propensity for self sabotage through self doubt. Practice not abandoning yourself. General Ancestor An ancestor with strong leadership qualities. Imbues qualities of strong leadership and presence in you. General will bring circumstances that push you into roles and positions of leadership. Tiger/Yin The theme for tiger is power - how to source, generate, express power, as well as the reverence and responsibility needed to wield power and aggression • must have healthy challenges or will create their own • competence/mastery: must conquer obstacles, develop pride through accomplishments • independent: needs a clear role with big territory. • energy extremes - either sleeping or hunting • although magnanimous and magnetic, tigers can be anti-social • ambitions can override humanitarianism if not careful • • Ps huge thanks again Poidl, my mom, & all the brilliant artists painting at the harbor! A true gift and a very special place Ps ps ps just realized there are actually 4 pillars in this wall :) Ps ps I don’t know how to document this properly best see it in person 🙂

@mural_harbor Mysticism Ancestor: imbues one with esoteric and occult gifts. Meant to practice these spiritual talents in one's lifetime. Goat/Wei House of Sexuality • height of yin energy • gracious and values humility, generosity • qi fed through community and collaboration, the collective • self-knowing through knowing the other, which can actually cause struggles with self-knowing - the self can disappear into the collective • need healthy home/social life and sense of belonging • here to learn to give without losing sense of self - themes of martyrdom Yin Metal/Xin Fall | West Image: Soft precious metal, jewelry Oracle Script: Thin metal tool - brand Maturity, aging, evening Pain, curation, image, conductive, refinement   ● Image of soft precious metal, precious stones, jewelry adornment and beauty ● Image of a brand: thin metal tool for marking skin - associated with pain and suffering ● Maturity - “eating bitterness”  as you age and mature, you’re expected to have experienced more of life’s bitterness and developed increased strength to swallow this bitterness ● Curation - aesthetic eye, wants the best, about taste and a level of sensitivity ● Soft flexible exterior that needs gentleness- if you hammer jewelry it will break ● Has conductivity like a metal antennae -  psychic and receives a lot of information Together: an image of goat wearing soft metal jewelry

Direct resource Ancestor : this god resources you like a parent resources you. • Been feeling a lot less sentimental or emotional about things lately and simply letting things come and go in the forms they wish. Talking about feelings on the internet interests me less and less. But I am here. Through painting somehow the brain processes in its own way I used to think I had control over myself but since I let my mind be understood as more of its own device Far more complex and also silly and common than I ever imagined I accept the things it wants and does I forgive it for making mistakes I try to listen and reprogram what I can that feels bad And I paint what it wants to paint On the eve of Father’s Day it rained and stormed in the hills of Austria and I felt compelled to go into the woods and look for a frog. I found one leaping into the creek. The next day as my mom and I drove to Linz she told me stories about living on the glaciers in Alaska with him for a summer. Once I had seen my wall in Linz I decided to paint a giant frog. I didn’t realize it was Father’s Day until later. Just happy to spend any day with my mom:) Been painting so much I don’t have time to overthink my concepts or even question them much Some things just want to come After I finished painting I had a memory of when I was young and one of my uncles told me that the day after my dads plane crash he had gone into the backyard and saw a frog by the pool and thought “that must’ve been Pete saying hi.” I thought that was silly then but humans find and feel things that make sense on such simple cosmic levels sometimes. On a plane above “sense.” That is why I love painting murals. The wall helps you communicate with yourself more directly than reason. Only once the painting is finished can you understand what you were trying to tell yourself . Humans are simple. We want to feel we are loved and cared for by people who have been gone for decades. That feeling can take whatever form, and the care we put into it can create the sensation of love and care for ourselves. An ancestor or a ghost or can of paint. a frog. It’s quite beautiful.

“BāZì no. 1“ (Four Pillars of Destiny) @mural_harbor 2024 🐲🛶👁️ 🐯🐛🐐🐸🌊 “In Taoist cosmology we each have our own life path - our “way” or Tao. Our Tao is part of the great cosmic Tao. If you imagine the great cosmic Tao as an endless flowing river, our Tao is a current within it.   Each of us is given a vessel with which to navigate our Tao. Your BāZì chart is the blueprint for your vessel. Your chart contains your “Four Pillars of Destiny”. Each pillar contains an animal and an element. The elements of your chart are the raw materials of your vessel and the animals are your skillful crew.   Some of us may have a speedy sailboat to skim and dance on the river of life, others may have a submarine to explore the great depths. (I obviously have a canoe)   Our task is to steer our unique vessel masterfully along our Tao, as we chart the course of our own destiny.” 🛶 Thank you Daria of @redrabbitastrology for this chart reading- I knew when I began painting on the water that this was the right place to start exploring my reading pictorially, as part of my intention to delve further into Chinese cosmology and personal work with my heritage. Many many huge thanks to Poidl for so much support (and patience 🥲) to @montanacans @rabbiteyemovement_official and to @nychos for the same, and always inspiring me to level up. I’m so happy I was able to be there for the momentous completion of your masterpiece! • The Bazi concept is extremely nuanced and full of symbolism impossible to include in one mural, (still trying to get my head around it).. I have hopes to continue this as a series to further attempt to understand this beautiful / esoteric cosmology. Will explain details here more fully in upcoming posts. #canoetrip #bazi #laurenys #muralharbor

🌟 In Celebration of #Pride we are proud to introduce Lauren YS as June’s featured artist🔮 Step into the fantastical world of @squid.licker , an artist whose high-chroma, dynamic works captivate and inspire. Lauren brings a unique blend of literature, comics, and animation to the urban art scene. Their art celebrates the dignity of diverse identities, creating lush portals to worlds that champion queer and mixed-race stories. Immerse yourself in their large-scale mural at #WynwoodWalls , where dreams come alive. 🌈 📷: @zugroup_inc

🦋✨The fae ✨🦋 A little bit of fae spice for your June festivities 🌈 • • • • • Inspired by actual fae babes @moonbowwarrior @ksmcorbin at Spinelessque 🦋 hosted by @sarapidgette