Layer Cake of NY Buttery Soft Tee

Layer Cake of New York is a vibrant, intricate portrait of the city, sliced open to reveal the stories, systems, & pressure beneath the surface. One of PJ’s signature works, it turns New York into a vertical cross-section where architecture, culture, hustle, & survival all stack on top of one another.

At the top, the Woolworth Building, Empire State Building, & Chrysler Building crown the city. Street level fills with tourists & locals, symbolized as chocolate chips; sweet, chaotic, & inseparable from the mix. Below, layers unfold into pizza culture, subway tunnels, & PJ selling art underground; a personal snapshot of building something from nothing. A snake weaves through the scene, hinting at deceptive investors & hard-earned lessons along the way.

Deeper still, the city gets strange & honest; rats, alligators, a ninja turtle, sewer tunnels, rail lines, wires, pipes, hidden rooms, & bodies locked in concrete. Facetious but rooted in reality, the piece reflects the dark humor, grit, & energy that live beneath New York’s surface.

This isn’t just an illustration.

It’s a map of what the city actually is.

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