Major mural of Oakland Olympic champ Alysa Liu goes up in Temescal

In the weeks since Oakland figure skater Alysa Liu climbed to the top of the medal stand, winning gold at the Winter Olympics in Milan, she’s been dominating network talk shows and social media chatter. 

In the past few days, artwork celebrating the champion has begun cropping up around the country. LA muralist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. put one up on Crenshaw Boulevard in Gardena. After Zermeño posted images of the mural in progress, speculation mounted about whether Oakland muralists would step up. 

By noon on Thursday, three crew members from the Bay Area urban street art collective, The Illuminaries, Steve Ha, Tim Hon, and Eric Nodara, had begun work on a mural in Temescal, at the corner of 43rd Street and Telegraph Avenue. 

“We just love to inspire youth with our murals and art,” Hon told The Oaklandside. “Things that make Oakland proud inspire us. A bunch of friends, family, and fans hit us up to ask if we were gonna do a mural. We are out here doing it for the love — we are paying for the paint.”

The wall they chose previously featured another Illuminaries mural depicting the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson. That mural, Hon said, was fading, and it was the perfect time to give the wall new life. 

By Friday afternoon, the trio of Illuminaries was well into making the massive 15-foot-tall mural. The inspiration was a Feb. 19 post on X by graphic designer Derreck Johnson, better known as Dee Phunk. “If there was ever a doubt where Alysa Liu is from,” he wrote, above side-by-side photos of Liu and Vallejo rapper Mac Dre making “thizz faces.” Mac Dre popularized the teeth-grinding facial gesture during the 2000s Hyphy Era. 

Liu’s hometown has been the subject of debate on social media since her victorious appearance at the Winter Olympics. Recently, Liu responded to a TikTok comment, saying that although she’s lived in many cities in the Bay Area, she considers Oakland her hometown and still resides here. 

The mural is sprayed painted in the urban street art style the collective is known for. In 2015, the group paid homage to Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry with another interpretation of the “thizz face.” 

Curious passersby stopped by the mural in progress as the trio sprinted to complete it. 

“I’m here because I believe this is a very good thing for Oakland,” someone who said he goes by Vinny told The Oaklandside. “It’s crazy that we have a gold medal athlete here in the Town. It’s great that we’re supporting local athletes!”

The artists had finished the mural by Friday evening. 

Liu is the first U.S. woman to win an individual Olympic medal in figure skating since Sasha Cohen won silver in 2006. City officials have said that Oakland is planning a celebration to honor Liu in the coming weeks; details have not been released.