Mural brings pop of colour to Wadestown

How did your career as an artist begin?
I used to work for a paint company, and they needed a shop display, but at the time I didn’t have an inch of creativity in my body – or well I thought I didn’t. I decided to just do the display, and all my peers and colleagues were like “wow”.

I ended up quitting my job the next week and went to art school at the Learning Connexion where I did a Diploma of Art. From there, I found my passion for creating murals and along the way I’ve worked as an art teacher or a mentor teaching at risk youth, prisoners, and teaching at primary schools.

It's amazing how one act of creativity can lead to a career that has been sustainable and rewarding!

What do you enjoy about being an artist?
I guess at this stage of my life, I've got quite a bit of energy and I'm a type one diabetic, so my body really rewards me for moving more. I found that being outside, getting fresh air, and moving the body has been a lot better for me compared to when I was sitting down to teach or tattooing, which I do a bit of on the side.

I think murals came along during art school when I caught up with mates who were always into street art and graffiti. I was drawn to how they used a spray can as a medium and what it could do. Now, I think one of the coolest things is being able to occupy an area and create something indicative of the space and fitting things to the aesthetic of what’s around it.  

I feel as though my work resonates with different and extended members of the community, as I find myself being fortunate enough to continually be approached to create public artworks.

Tell us the story of the mural. 
I was approached by Manukorihi Winiata and Len Hetet from Baked Design Limited, and Manu brought me in on the project to help create something that spoke to a few key drivers of the area, mainly people and the land and the water.

We created a series of marks and used the niho taniwha to acknowledge the people so that speaks to whānau, protection and stability.

In terms of the land, we acknowledge that with some native bush, and we painted that as a scenery. To show the waters and the sea, the awa is represented inside the puhoro which shows movement. The awa was one of the core drivers behind this design and the korimako bird or the bellbird is something that sort of reflects through there too. 

Colour selection was also key. For the florals and the land, we used green, and then we picked a sort of sandy colour to represent the parū or the land, while the water and the seas are represented through the blue. And then we left some exposed concrete there so that it can speak to the history of the area and not take away what the wall has meant to people. 

What was your creative process like for this mural?
I guess I started with just drawing shapes onto a photograph that I took of the wall on my iPad and was just playing with the aesthetic and trying to figure out what sort of composition was going to work on the wall.

I created the concept on the photograph. Then when it came to executing it, I went directly onto the concrete. I’m completely hands-free with spray paint. I don't use stencils whatsoever.

It's one thing to draw a picture on or put it directly onto a photograph, but sometimes there are hidden angles on the wall with things that are protruding from it. A couple of the big triangles had to be adjusted, and the aesthetic of the wall was very different to what I had planned.

The whole mural was also a long triangle shape, which was new to me. We did all this learning alongside contractors who were doing road works at the same time. We ended up completing the work within a 40-hour work week, so I’m really stoked with the overall results.  

How were the community involved in this mural?
I think for the most part, they were positive. There is a school next door, and a lot of families would come over to ask about the birds on the wall, and the colours used. The initial community response was good, and we had a couple of regulars who came to say hello.

The area needed some love. I find that the quirkiness of some of these walls sort of reflect my creativity so it’s nice to bring that to a new suburb.

What would you say to people who don’t feel like they’re ‘creative’ enough to be artist?
I would say just be open to opportunities and in the early stages of your process, search for things that make you feel passionate and see if it’s for you. You could start doing work with an organisation that is important to you. When I first started off, I had kids at the local hospital, so I created a mural for the maternity ward to say thank you.  

Think about your core drivers of what you're creating and what you like. Figure out what you love and enjoy, and the creative works will resonate more.  

Murals enable communities to come together and share ideas about what might be represented, and for artists to develop their practice beyond the traditional arts spaces to broaden their careers. Murals add a pop of colour to our cityscapes and make visible histories, people, and place. They enable people to see our city differently and provide information about spaces we may not have been aware of. Murals are also a great way to reduce graffiti and increase perceptions of safety. Check out our collections page to see what murals there are across the city.