Street art’s new meaning in Christchurch
Christchurch’s world-renowned collection of street art has just grown much larger.
Ten new street art murals have been created in central Christchurch, Lyttelton and New Brighton by artists from New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Canada and Britain.
The artists began creating the new murals on large walls across the city on December 21 as part of the new Street Prints Otautahi festival. Many of the artists were still working on their walls on Wednesday.
Wellington-based artist Kelly Spencer, who paints under the name Kell Sunshine, was working on a large mural on the former site of the Harbour Light theatre in London St, Lyttelton on Wednesday morning. The colourful artwork featured a blue bird, a poppy flower and the word ‘‘place’’. She said her work was inspired by the colourful paintings on Indian trucks.
‘‘My piece has a look at the conflict between putting roots down and choosing a place to call your own or belonging to a place that is already your own versus the human desire to be transient and move,’’ she said.
‘‘All of us have both of those elements within us to an extent. It’s a conversation that has come up a lot for me in my life.
‘‘The bird symbolises freedom and the poppy is about putting down roots.’’
British artist Fin DAC was creating an artwork on the YMCA building on Hereford St on Wednesday morning. The artwork was based on a picture taken by photographic studio Soldiers Rd, which photographs people in traditional Ma¯ ori clothing.
‘‘I tend to paint people in traditional clothing because I think it is a shame that it is being lost.
‘‘Everything is becoming much more Westernised and homogenised,’’ Fin DAC said.
The Christchurch YMCA has held two street art events with Nelson Banksy collector George Shaw, but is running this event with arts and community advocacy group PAINT.
In the aftermath of the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch became a world street art capital.