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Uno Mas featuring Co-Lab Your Own Religion, 2006
There is nothing about being on an island that has stopped graffiti, an artform born in the streets and subways of New York City, from taking hold in the 50th state. From culverts to overpasses, streetlamps to rusting shacks on the North Shore, Hawaii has produced its share of aerosol artists. Uno Mas represents the latest evolution of a global movement, which fuses the established traditions of tagging (the stylized signature on a sticker or surface) and burners (elaborate, large-scale calligraphy) with those of wheatpasting and poster art. This style thrives in the streets of cities like San Franciso, Paris, Tokyo and New York, and particularly in non-white working class neighborhoods. Uno Mas and Co-Lab tune the street level tactics of their "Religion" to the frequency of the gallery and are finally able to take the time to express themselves without the threat of arrest, being hit by a car, or being swept away by a flash flood.
 





all photos: Timothy Pinault

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