BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAYWhen was the last time you saw Street Art addressing organized crime? No, not posters for Uggs, silly, the Godfather/Tony Soprano kind of thing…
Take a look at these photos by artist John J. Mahyo, who traveled to an abandoned stone quarry in southern Italy for a representational retelling of stories related to the reported crime family, Camorra. Influenced by the book, “Gomorrah” by Roberto Saviano that reportedly unmasked a modern day crime family, thus meriting 24-hour police protection for the author, Mahyo worked with photographer and artist Elp Supra to create this homage to the victims of organized crime. In his words, “It’s a simple guerrilla action against Mafia and a support to the civic engagement of Roberto.
John J. Mahyo. Caserta, Italy. (Photo © Elp Supra)
Mahyo, who speaks oddly in the third person about himself, answered a few questions about the work.
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you expand a bit on the use of death (skeletons) and the “business men” in the large mural?
John J. Mahyo: Certainly… The skeletons represent the Mafia’s victims ready to relive and get revenge against their nemesis, represented by a mobster and his killers and assistants.
John J. Mahyo “Ginevra Risman” (Photo © Elp Supra)
Brooklyn Street Art: The portrait of the lady sits on a bed of arms. Could you expand on those symbols and their juxtaposition?
John J. Mahyo: The lady is Ginevra Risman (anagram of a notorious Italian actress); she looks like an “Avenging Angel” just emerging from a pool of blood, AK-47, Thompson and Beretta guns
John J. Mahyo. “Ginevra Risman” (Photo © Elp Supra)
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you tell us a little bit more about you and about Roberto? Who is John J. Mahyo?
John J. Mahyo: Well, he was born as a graffiti artist in 1997 and at the sunrise of the 3rd Millennium he began to also create Street Art (the evolution of “writing”). Mahyo doesn’t consider himself an artist but a communicator; he asserts that art is a genuine communication that can be used as a weapon to win lost causes. Just like Roberto Saviano, who wrote “Gomorrah”, the best-selling book translated in 51 countries, where he describes the clandestine particulars of the Camorra business.
More info at:
http://johnjmahyo.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/fighting-mafia/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Saviano
238
138
45
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Street Artist Barlo sends us this mural he did in his hometown Hong Kong in the back of a bar that features caricatures sculpted of Mao, Stalin, and Hitler – which gives you an idea of what sorts of r...
Hello from French Polynesia! All week we have been hopping around the islands from Papeete to Raiatea and now in Bora Bora. Celebrating its 5th anniversary/birthday last night at the h...
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family for your support in 2023. Picked by our followers, these photos are the heavily ci...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. Kerava Art Museum: Our Pink House by OLEK 2. Vegan Flava: "A Walk On Weak Ice" 3. Na...
