Town painted Ed; now painting Pink
ORANGE will become pink as the latest pop superstar to visit Dunedin follows the Ed Sheeran tradition of being immortalised in mural form.
Dunedin artist Jon Thom was commissioned to paint Pink on a faux brick wall by Wall Street Mall.
The work will be unveiled inside the complex this morning.
The pop singer brings her Beautiful Trauma Tour to For syth Barr Stadium on Saturday.
Wall Street Mall marketing coordinator Nathan Frisby said the idea came after the success of the city’s Ed Sheeran mural in Bath St.
‘‘We were thinking ‘what are we going to do for Pink?’.
‘‘Obviously everybody’s seen the success of the Ed Sheeran mural and how viral it went. We thought, Pink is an awesome musician, so we’d do a similar sort of marketing campaign.’’
They came up with the idea of commissioning a local artist. Thom was approached and agreed to paint the mural.
The work will be displayed in the mall and auctioned off after the show.
Funds will be donated to Women’s Refuge Dunedin.
Although the mall is owned by the Dunedin City Council, mall management said the mural funds came from retailer contributions.
Wall Street Mall would not reveal the cost of the work.
Thom said the commission was a good opportunity, but he was not in the singer’s ‘‘target market’’.
‘‘It’s good to get work out there, but it’s my job as well.’’
The canvas was about 3m by 3m and the work was made with paint, charcoal and pastel.
The mural took him ‘‘two solid days’’, he said.