Mural helps city to bee beautiful
A central Wellington wall frequently targeted by vandals has had a makeover in the form of an environmentallyminded mural.
The large-scale project, which was completed by graphic artists Kelly Spencer, Sean Duffell and artist Stephen Templer in one day, illustrates the vital role bees play in sustaining the planet’s ecosystem.
‘‘Bees pollinate a third of everything we eat so the message ‘ Hold Tight’ is asking the bee population to bear with us while we as humans work to realign ourselves with the world and repair the ongoing damages done,’’ Spencer explained. ‘‘The wall has ivy growing upwards and bees are one of the few species who can feed off ivy plants.’’
The Wellington City Council submitted the design idea to the Paint New Zealand Beautiful initiative run by Keep New Zealand Beautiful, which provides resources to make communities beautiful through the painting of murals graffiti.
‘‘This wall has been a target for a long time,’’ graffiti programme adviser Hine Sullivan said. ‘‘The owner of the building, Ian Utting, has tried to keep the wall clean, but it has always been a challenge.’’ and eradication of
The new mural has already been tagged three times but graffiti-guard meant the tags could be removed quickly.
Artist Stephen Templer said he was happy to have been involved in ‘‘planting a visual garden on Cuba Street, helping to pollinate the imagination of the city with this beautiful, environmentally themed work’’.
Only two projects were funded by the Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme this year, with the other mural being painted in rural Southland.