Renowned street artist leaves his mark

Dannevirke’s Farmlands is now proudly decorated by the work of a world-renowned street artist.

A crowd of nearly 200 people gathered at the High St store on the weekend for the official unveiling of the latest mural by globe-trotting artist Graham Hoete, known as Mr G.

Hoete earned international acclaim for his murals of Steven Adams in Oklahoma and Prince in Minnesota during a tour of the United States in 2016.

The mural is one of 15 the Farmlands Co-operative has commissioned for its HEART of the Community project.

The project has sent Hoete to farming communities throughout New Zealand, where he creates a mural for Farmlands buildings inspired by the history and character of the town around them.

The artist consulted Dannevirke Farmlands staff and decided on a mural of the Ruahine Range, dominated by hereford bulls, which have been integral to the area’s farming and transport industries, Hoete said.

Hoete spent a week working on Dannevirke’s mural, getting to know the curious locals who stopped by and showing them how he worked.

Hoete said he’d grown up in a small Bay of Plenty town, so it felt good to get back to his roots and give back to the community after travelling the world with his art.

He’d been invited to take part in the project after a media report on his 8 metre-tall memorial mural of Prince.

‘‘I’m real passionate that I use my art to get out and represent as a Ma¯ ori and a Kiwi.’’

He unveiled the gigantic portrait with a speech in te reo and a haka.

So the story goes, some Farmlands executives were discussing the HEART project when the story came up on the television in the background. ‘‘They thought, ‘check this guy out, he’s a Kiwi’, so they emailed me.’’