Website: https://malayatuyay.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mah.lie.yuh/
Artist Statement
My current body of work is a love letter to the values that were gifted to me by my parents. I was taught at a young age to stand up for what I believe in and to find creative ways to bring people together. Across all spaces that I occupy as a multimedia artist and organizer, I am committed to sharing my personal stories of grief and transformation as a way to remind ourselves of our inherent connection as humans. My installations ask the viewer to see themselves in the work and engage in it by answering prompts about their lives. When we see everyone’s answers together within the artwork, it’s hard to ignore our similarities and connection. I choose mediums that have a history of community involvement such as printmaking and mural to root the concepts in practice. Often the subjects in my work are more tangible - like words or portraits – to support people from all generations and walks of life to more easily see themselves in the work or at least have a clear entrance to engage with the work. My work has been shown at OMCA, SFMoMA, Eastside Arts Alliance, Kearny Street Workshop and YBCA.
Work Statement
This work represents the inner worlds that we all carry with us and how memories / timelines are often blurred into our present life. The above section is a portrait of community member and friend Dara paired with an image of her and her sister hugging when they were younger. She holds the memory in water and looks on with a peaceful smile, holding this dear memory close to her. Below is the imagery of tears and water surrounding a figure (representing spirit - however you may associate with that) that is holding a new sprouting plant. These visuals are metaphors for how our memories can act as water that helps to grow the seeds we plant for our futures. Our memories and stories are often driving forces for how we choose to live our lives. When I made this piece, I was creating a lot of work that untangled the abstract inner emotional world. I remember moving through a lot of deep feelings that felt unexplainable with words. The way I could explain the depth of these emotions was to create large installations where viewers could be more engulfed in the piece - representing how the emotions often engulfed me.
Young Tides
Relief print on found and hand dyed fabrics, hand stitched and hand painted details
18’ x 10’
NFS