NiteTalk: 2Square Runs Circles ‘Round Wynwood

You've seen 'em on the art scene, making it like a couple of mad, rad road warriors. You've seen spectacular slices of their work, on walls stretching from Wynwood to South Beach. But until now you've not seen them to such mind-expanding extent. They are Jeremiah Taylor and Justin Vallee, notoriously known as 2Square, and this Second Saturday the modern day gypsies are unveiling the largest mural project of their world-wild lives.

Just what (and who) is 2Square? We are two best friends that travel together and create art through different mediums -- clothing, photography, modeling, acting, poetry, hair, skate decks, shoes, freestyle, street art murals, inventions think modern day renaissance man. We have a webseries on our website that follows some of our travels and introduces corky people we encounter along the way..

Is there some kinda story behind the moniker? It means different things to us both, but the common ground is it's a play on words. 2square requires and challenges you to think, and to look deeper into not only what you can see but deeper into what you can't see. We are about exploring ourselves and the world, spreading love and solidifying truth. the point is we are anything but square and our brains and lives exist out of the normal box.

When did you two begin roaming the wild world? We started roaming in our mid 20s, however it was sporadic at first since we both had professional jobs. I ran a landscaping company and Jeremiah worked as creative director at a nationally ranked hair salon. We began to see our potential during a long stay in London in 2009. After that we had no choice but to shed our former lives and become 2square. We have been roaming for a few years, but we've been on the road full time over a year and some change.

Wanna name a few highlight places? Amsterdam, London, Prague, Barcelona, Detroit, Lisbon, Berlin, Cleveland, Oporto, Mainz, and Knoxville to name a few.

Speaking of highlights, Miami will certainly rank, what possessed you to come here anyway?
We met a friend Shaun (Rickshaw Spiderman) in NYC a couple years ago. He invited us down for our first Art Basel. We stayed here a week that year then flew to London to live for three months in a unheated warehouse. We promised each other that the next Basel we would stay the winter. So basically we've been productive the entire time since mid November... painting walls, modeling, creative collaborations, working props and art department on shoots as well. We've created something memorable in Wynwood that we are both proud of and will carry with us well after we leave. We've had some interesting exhibitions while here and painted tons of walls.

Did you get into trouble from the get? Being 2square itself brings a little trouble and we definitely walk the line and jump back and forth. We've managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. But we've been in cuffs a few times, held for questioning at a Russian Embassy, spent time in London holding cells, almost arrested in Milan -- yeah, they didn't like us at all, patted, fisked, etc etc.. Without going into too much detail...

And since? We live very simple lives but one thing we don't go shabby on is spray paint. This Saturday for Art Walk we open a building that we have used over 350 spray cans on. We used our own money on  this project the building has been a labor of love. We've painted in the rain and sun since arriving in Miami, spending just over two months on this project. We tried to approach most of the 17 2square murals from different angles. It's easy to get lost in a style when it's comfortable.

Which brings us to Second Saturday -- what all is on tap? We will have DJs Grace Jones, Jorge, Phantasman, Eric Lopez, and Redfox, musical acts Haochi Waves and Pocket of Lollipops, and some pop-up clothing from Little Ramona and Jacques Smith. Also we are expecting some random acts and performances. And there's a wall some new muralists are working on. The whole scene is gonna be cool we are opening up the area around the whole building to the public at 5pm.

How'd you manage to land so much prime real estate anyway? Since getting back to the states from our European street art tour we've taken a different approach for the most part working mainly on the legal side. Jeremiah spoke with the owner of the building and we came to a basic agreement.

Care to share where 2Square may go after this blowout? Well we have a handful of shoots planned the next month. We both recently got asked to act in a movie and do art direction in a music video. There's talks of other documentation. Some people who own businesses have approached us about painting murals. Honestly, we are both happy about the way things are going and open to ideas and projects we can become passionate about.

2Square massive mural maul takes place Second Saturday June 9, 5pm at Marcel Fashion 394 NW 24th St in Wynwood
 

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