All posts tagged: Sonny Sundancer

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.20.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.20.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

Back in dirty old Brooklyn from squeaky clean Norway, nothing has changed, and everything has changed. The Pokémon GO Fest is bringing 70,000 players to Randalls Island and elsewhere in the city, city government is banning TikTok from all official devices, and stabbings are up by 26% so Stay on your A-game out there people. The city is still beckoning you to Summer Streets, and we do too because wherever you go in New York, there is always a show, and sometimes you are it.

Back at home we have around 100,000 new immigrants from Mexico over the last year, central and south America this year because of buses full arriving from the southern border, and the city is struggling to find them sufficient shelter, let alone housing. Now the governor is joining league with President Biden to tell the mayor that it’s his problem. The paucity of vision here is regrettable, especially when, A. the city benefits greatly from new immigrants, B. the money is nearly pouring into the Ukranian war daily, now reaching at least 78 billion in aid (with a new 24 billion just proposed) only so Blackrock can sweep in and take all the contracts to rebuild when it is finished, C. New York has a surplus of office space ready to become residences, and D. NYC is historically a highly diverse city of immigrants who have kept us in business and made us culturally rich beyond belief, brothers and sisters. Not everyone has forgotten what made us great, even today. It’s us.

We lead the images this week with street artist Nimi’s poetic interpretation in Stavanger of Norway’s famous cliff Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock. There are not sufficient words to describe certain examples of natural beauty, so it is more fitting that a street artist address it – in this case possibly creating a parallel between its scale and the depth of love the artist has for his family. According to online accounts, the subject is his daughter Sophia.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Praxis VGZ, BK Foxx, Snik, Calicho Art, Sonny Sundancer, Nite Owl, NIMI, Pinky, Heal Hop, and Silvia Marcon.

Nimi’s poetic interpretation of Norway’s famous cliff Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock. Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lysefjorden. Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock. Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nimi’s poetic interpretation of Norway’s famous cliff Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock. Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lysefjorden. Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock. Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Silvia Marcon’s portrait of the Mona Lisa was made with mosaics. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pink is hot this summer, thanks to BlackPink, Barbie and Messi. Houston/Bowery Wall, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Houston/Bowery Wall, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx for East Village Walls. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx for East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Heal Hop (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nite Owl (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Calicho Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Praxis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Windmills off the coast of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Summer 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Sonny: “Corridors Of Hope” In South Africa

Sonny: “Corridors Of Hope” In South Africa

How can we answer the needs of today without compromising the world our future generations will inherit?

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)
Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

South African fine artist and muralist Sonny has been a champion of the beautiful wild beasts that populate its native land and beyond throughout his career. Lions, elephants, tigers, jaguars, leopards, whales, bears, eagles, and the occasional human. He brings all these creatures to life on walls worldwide with precise and impressive realism, executed to the finest detail. The artist makes it his mission to raise awareness of the plight that many of these animals are confronting to survive in increasingly inhospitable habitats. Humans have been encroaching on their natural territories at an alarming rate – forcing wildlife to subsist in smaller areas at a huge risk to their ability to thrive and survive.

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

For the Baz-Art International Public Art Festival in Cape Town, Sonny painted a Cape Leopard in response to the festival theme of “100 Sustainable.”

Says Sonny, “For me, this Cape leopard is a symbol of hope, as people are waking up to new ways of approaching conservation that are less about fencing off wildlife in nature reserves, and more about adapting our world to allow animals and humans to safely and peacefully co-exist. We humans are not above nature, we are part of it.”

This year the festival poses a question: How can we answer today’s needs without compromising the world our future generations will inherit?

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

Click HERE to learn more about Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival

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Wild Animals Run in the Streets: Wynwood Is A Zoo

Wild Animals Run in the Streets: Wynwood Is A Zoo

Yes, Wynwood was a zoo this year.

Martin Whatson. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maybe its because animals are safe subjects to paint and make it past the neighborhood censors, maybe its because they are handily metaphoric when it comes to communicating a complicated or difficult idea. Maybe it is just because they are cute and everybody on Instagram is going to offer a clever rejoinder on your new painting in Miami, you cool dude/dudette.

Ernesto Maranje. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From unicorns to hippos to lions and alligators, the street is full of them right now around every corner in the Wynwood District and you can still enjoy them until the neighborhood becomes so developed that they kill them all. Well not all of them. One or two will still be creeping up on you in the occasional abandoned lot that has a high tax bill or a hefty remediation of toxic soil that still makes it too pricey for potential investors.

All of that wild conjuring aside, here is a selection of currently running creatures of the gritty urban jungle in this humid and hot southern city for you to marvel at.

Woes. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SkyOne. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Feik. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bublegum Sr. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Saturno. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Saturno. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ron English. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Dheo. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.25.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.25.19

The Amazon Forest – which furnishes 6% of our oxygen is being burned – an unthinkable event in human history. Evidence points to arson – incidences are up 80% over last year. Darkness now falls hours before the sun sets in São Paulo, and G7 leaders are set to hold emergency talks over the wildfires crisis. Events like these threaten to push us into a domino effect of environmental disaster.

In related news, New Yorker David Koch died, a billionaire by inheritance, a key funder of climate change denial who used millions to sway the laws and to set the world on fire while usurping your voice. The Kochs were just on Hasan Minaj 5 days ago! – go to 10:20 on this video

Thankfully, NYC is still gorgeous and hot and steamy and sticky this week – and so is a lot of the Street Art.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Adrian Wilson, Antennae, ASVP, Dee Dee, Giulio Vesprini, Jazz Guetta, Kyro, Maria Qamar, Muebon, NDA, Never Satisfied, Nevs, Nitzan Mintz, OverUnder, Sonny Sundancer, Subway Doodle, UFO 907, and Vexx

Sonny Sundancer (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vexx for The Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine for JMZ Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dee Dee (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulio Vesprini (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulio Vesprini (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Adrian Wilson. This was originally painted last Thanksgiving to protest Black Friday consumerism and Amazon’s draconian labor practices. Still resonates today. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Antennae (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“The dream fills the room and there isn’t enough oxygen for both of us. I try not to move and not to breath.” Dude, get out. Nitzan Mintz (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Never Satified (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A tribute to writer Kyro by DG and NOA (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Maria Qamar (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Muebon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Subway Doodle (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vintage Overunder and ND’A in NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jazz Guetta (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)
UFO 907 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Summer 2019. NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA’s 15 Most Popular Murals of 2018: A “Social” Survey

BSA’s 15 Most Popular Murals of 2018: A “Social” Survey

There’s street cred, and then there’s social media credit. These are 15 of the latter, compiled by BSA by our own rigorous methodology.

Bears lead the pack! A monkey is here as well. Skulls and Biggie Smalls make it in again. Text wisdom also wins along with representations of the natural world like Pejac’s tree and Naomi Rag’s flower. And a rep for Game of Thrones and the horrors of Hitchcock as well – you knew popular culture would represent.

These are the top murals from 2018 via tabulations of our website, Instagram, Twitter, and two Facebook pages. In a thoroughly unscientific survey that calculates “likes” and “clicks” and “re-Tweets” and “impressions”, and every year we cannot predict which one’s are going to be popular, but sometimes you can guess. We don’t publish a lot of murals of cats, but if we did, they would probably win. Just guessing.

This year we’re drawn to the two written word pieces, likely because they are erudite and witty to some extent – and because it is good to see how smart BSA readers are. Brilliant, we say!

Welcome to your favorite murals of the year:


15 – Banksy.

A tribute. A plea. A denunciation. A well used example of the artist’s platform to bring awareness of the plight of artists who dare to set themselves free with their art. Depicted here is Ms. Zehra Doğan, an editor and journalist from Turkey. She is presently serving time in jail for painting Turkish flags on a painting showing destroyed buildings and posting the painting on Social Media. Marking the time with tick

Banksy. Free Zehra Doğan. NYC. Houston/Bowery Wall. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

14 – Sonny Sundancer.

Sonny Sundancer finishes his final mural for his #totheboneproject , a grizzly titled “Standing Tall” looking out over Greenwich Village.

“Standing Tall” was done in conjunction with The L.I.S.A Project NYC. May 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

13 – Axe Colours.

Axe Colours goes GOT and the question going into 2019 in many people’s minds is: Will she or won’t she?

The Mother of Dragons on the streets of Barcelona as interpreted by Axe Colours. This photo was taken on November 2017 but shared on Instagram on February of 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

12 – Owen Dippie.

New Zealand artist Owen Dippie is known for pairing pop characters in his realistic large scale work. Here’s an odd couple of film director Hitchcock and Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls.

Pigeons, Ravens, Cigars, Mystery and Music on the streets of Brooklyn. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

11 – Kobra.

Brazilian artist Kobra gave himself a residency in NYC this year with the goal of painting as many murals as time and available walls would permit him. He succeeded by painting 18 walls throughout NYC – mostly the top level easy to identify icons found on t-shirts, posters and postcards for decades here. One of his portraits of Amy Winehouse proved to be hugely popular.

Kobra. Amy Winehouse. Manhattan, October 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1o – Disordered.

Anxiety rings true when the giveaways to business interests for nearly four decades under both dominant parties have gradually placed folks like these in this neighborhood constantly in fear of missing the rent, the grocery bill, the car payment, the cost of providing for their kids. Disordered is right.

#DISORDERED. Done in Welling Court, Queens for Welling Court 2018. July 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

9 – Kaos.

The KAOS Factory, colloquially named because the German graffiti artist by the same name has slowly taken it over with his work during the last few years, by default converting the former steam factory into his de facto “residency”.

KAOS. The Kaos Factory. Leipzig, Germany. October 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

8 – Naomi Rag.

Not specifically a Street Artist, Naomi Rag crochets her favorite things and puts them up mainly on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This simple rose on a school yard fence steadily garnered attention throughout the year – and reminded us of this song from the 1960s.

“There is a rose in Spanish Harlem
A red rose up in Spanish Harlem
It is a special one, it’s never seen the sun
It only comes out when the moon is on the run
And all the stars are gleaming
It’s growing in the street right up through the concrete
But soft and sweet and dreaming…”

Jerry Leiber & Phil Spector

Naomi Rag. Red Rose in Spanish Harlem. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

7 – GlossBlack.

New York is a constant source of inspiration for countless artists of all disciplines who have made a home and hopefully a career in this dynamic city of endless serendipity and challenge. GlossBlack hit the mark with this tough and tumble tribute to the city.

GlossBlack in collaboration with Klughaus in Manhattan. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

6 – Bordalo II.

Bordalo II has evolved a spectacular practice of creating street works from our refuse that shock and thrill many a passersby with his ingenuity and evocative image making – while raising our collective consciousness about our responsibility to the earth.

Bordalo II. Lisbon, Portugal. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4 – BKFoxx.

With a commercial eye toward the natural world and larger societal issues BKFoxx chooses subjects for their emotional impact and their ability to translates easily for an image-savvy audience whose endless hours of personal screen entertainment has produced an expectation for a big budget Hollywood and consumer culture slickness with high-production values.

BKFoxx in collaboration with JMZ Walls. Bushwick, Brooklyn. April 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

3 – Terry Urban.

Inspiration to create flows from many rivers and tributaries. Many times that inspiration comes from a fellow artist as is the case here. Art is for everyone, and the street is more than ever a perfect place to see it.

Terry Urban channeling Basquiat in Manhattan. January 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

3 – Egle Zvirblyte.

Egle’s feminism is abundantly clear on her work. A mixture of pop and riddles and unabashedly self assured.

Egle Zvirblyte. A project curated by BSA with the production assistance and wall access from Joe Franquinha / Crest Hardware and paint donated by Montana Cans. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

2 – Pejac.

The Spaniard Pejac came for a few weeks to New York this spring and left this piece in Bushwick. The wall is a brick façade typical of many Brooklyn neighborhoods, but this one appears to have grown a tree this week. Perhaps he chose to paint this tree because the promise of spring had inspired him, or because this neighborhood remains industrial and could benefit from some more of nature’s influence. For us it’s all about context so it is good to see that a tree grows in Brooklyn.

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1 – Adrian Wilson

Just in under the wire and straight to number 1, this cleverly turned phrase and hooded ideogram is an ironic amalgam of Banksy and Warhol that hit the nerve of readers who are becoming acutely aware of us all slipping into a surveillance society. Also, it’s funny.

We only published this mural in December but the number of hits and comments across social media indicated that it resonates strongly across a wide demographic. Photographer, videographer, former gallery owner and infrequent Street Artist Adrian Wilson clearly is not shooting for anonymity.

Top image: Adrian Wilson plays with words to reflect our pop culture trolling both Warhol and Banksy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 05.13.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 05.13.18


BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

A lot of action in Brooklyn these last few weeks thanks to a number of artists swinging through town for the Moniker Art Fair in Greenpoint, as well as the annual peregrination of artists who are arriving in the city that begins in earnest after the last danger of frost has passed.

If you are in NYC you may like to swing by the Quin Hotel to see the “In Bloom”group show in the lobby that opened Thursday co-curated by DK Johnston and Lori Zimmer and the “Chimera” 3-artist show at GR gallery with 1010, Ron Agam, and Nelio. We def recommend the Rammellzee show at Red Bull Arts  – many praises to Carlo McCormick and Max Wolf and team for pulling that one off. In case you missed our interview with Carlo, here it is: Rammellzee, Racing For Thunder, and Interview with Carlo McCormick

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Brusk, Buff Monster, False, finDAC, King Amsterdam, Knox, Lady Courage, Low Key Steezo666, Lunge Box, Sonny Sundancer, Swoon, and Wellnoo.

Top Image: Sunny Sundancer finishes his final mural for his #totheboneproject , a grizzly titled “Standing Tall” looking out over Greenwich Village, done in conjunction with The L.I.S.A Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville for Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. TRAP on top. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville taking a break to gossip. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Buff Monster for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Low Key Steezo666 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lady Courage (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon at Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Welinoo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

King Amsterdam (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Knoz . False (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week:07.16.17

BSA Images Of The Week:07.16.17


BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

A great collection of stuff this week during the height of summer in New York. From block parties where the street gets closed and cousin Eddie grills some meat and kids jump in bouncy houses or run through the water spraying from a fire hydrant, to going to  concerts in the park and sitting on a blanket with grapes and cheese and food from the deli, to spending the afternoon with a few hundred other close friends at McCarren pool or thousands on the sand at Coney Island, everybody wants to go out and play.

We’re all trying to forget our troubles and because – Hey! It’s only summer for a short time. Let’s go ride bikes! Let’s sit on a stoop and watch the pretty girls and boys go by. Let’s hike up the railroad tracks and see new graffiti and Street Art.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Damien Mitchell, El Sol 25, Jerkface, Marina Zumi, Molly Crabapple, Naveen Shakil, Nick Waler, Plasma Slug, RAD, and Sonny Sundancer.

Top image: Sonny Sundancer. Detail.The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonny Sundancer. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerface (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Molly Crabapple’s dark, frightening and humorous illustration about the mult-headed monsters steering the ship of state. She calls it “Trumpbeast”(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marina Zumi for East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plasma Slug (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plasma Slug (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plasma Slug (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plasma Slug (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell for JMZ Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RAD (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Naveen Shakil (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NYC. July 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.02.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.02.17

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

4th of July weekend here in New York so we are headed to a barbecue and a frisbee game. Maybe to the Jersey shore for some sun. Happy 4th ya’ll! Looks like the country needs to take itself back from the corporate overlords – if we want to declare the US to be independent ever again.  Right now we’re in trouble, gurl – and everyone knows it!

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Banksy, Clint Mario, Crash, El Sol 25, Felipe Pantone, FinDAC, Hopare, Hot Tea, Invader, John Ahearn, Logan Hicks, Mark Jenkins, Resistance is Female, SaxSix, and Sonny Sundancer.

Top image: Sonny Sundancer (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hopare. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John Ahearn(photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Crash. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Clint Mario (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SacSix for Welling Court 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Jenkins. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Logan Hicks. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

#resistanceisfemale (photo © Jaime Rojo)

#resistancisfemale (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy’s corner at Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Felipe Pantone. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Felipe Pantone (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hot Tea tribute to Laser Burners (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader. Urban Art Fair NYC. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Summer 2017. Manhattan, NYC. June 2017.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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