When I was 3 years old I would say “legs we’ll be, we’ll be legs”.
My name is 3axap Bakc which is Cyrillic for Zachar Vaks, which was
turned into Zachary Podgorny when I moved to America. As Zack
Podgorny I wanted to separate my self from the anti-Semitic Russians
who harassed me when I lived in Uzbekistan. Once, my downstairs
neighbor threatened to kill me with an axe.
More fond memories of Uzbekistan include smoking grapevines, eating
honey suckles, and walking around in the bazaars of Tashkent. These
constructions of my memories are now being processed through my
paintings, drawings and freestyles.While painting and drawing provides
a critical material investigation of my ideas, the performative
element of the freestyle embarrasses me.
I enjoy rhyming in English, and recently I am attempting to use the
Russian language even though it has been eroded because of my
Americanization.