Artist tackles huge Feilding mural
It’s a big job, but artist Joe Mcmenamin is making progress on a giant mural that spans the length of Feilding’s Coach House Museum.
Commissioned by the museum to beautify the side of the building, Mcmenamin started to work on the design last year and this summer has seen him crack into the preparation and painting.
‘‘It’s hard to know exactly how long it will take. I have never done anything this big. But I think it will be a few more months.’’
The mural depicts preeuropean bush and native birds through to modern-day Feilding, incorporating the changing farming equipment over time.
Some of the old farming equipment displayed inside is also being included in the mural, which he said was a good way to show people what the museum is about.
‘‘There are still a lot of people that haven’t been here and it is a really cool place. There is heaps of neat stuff here.’’
Mcmenamin has also been working on other mural jobs in Feilding and Wellington this summer and said it’s good to see public art get funding and support.
‘‘Councils have realised that murals stop tagging. Taggers usually won’t tag over murals. There is a bit of respect there, but taggers also want a plain wall, so it works in that way. Murals bring exposure and attention and they make places look more interesting.’’
Mcmenamin said he had seen an ‘‘upsurge’’ of murals being commissioned in public places lately and he had done work at local kindergartens and schools, as well as designing a rural scene for the planned shopping and cafe precinct at the old New World site. Mcmenamin designed the Coach House Museum mural on his computer using paintings that he has already done.
He hopes to soon be mentoring and working alongside Feilding youth to paint a mural on the Feilding Promotion building.