DIYMAFIA was born out of a response to the absurdity of the modern world. As someone who has loved crafting forever and has worked in art direction for film and video for many years, it was only natural to expand the brand to represent the current work. 

 

To “DYI”, to “Do It Yourself” is an ethic, a life skill, a form of control. There are too many issues in the wider world that we cannot control; politics, tragedies, injustice, but we strive to better ourselves the best we can, so it comes down to self-reliance to the things we can control. So we fail, we learn, and we try again.

 

The “MAFIA” is a group of organised individuals, mostly nerds, geeks, fellow craftspeople trying to create something out of nothing. The “ruthless behaviour” is directed in different ways. Towards ourselves? To have unreasonably high expectations? Towards the quality of our work? 

 

DIYMAFIA is headed by “mob boss” Billy Lau, who has worked in film and video production and art direction since 2006. He has since expanded his work into interior design, installations, and prop styling. He is currently working on installations on gender fluidity, income inequality, and mental illness.