BREAKING DOWN WALLS
Artist makes her mark on city
She’s possibly Wellington’s best seen artist that you have never heard of.
An array of large-scale murals are slowly but surely making their way around Wellington’s buildings but, aside from the signature marked on each piece, the story behind the artist has not been so well known.
Em Wafer has turned her hobby into a career and her art has caught the imagination of building owners around the city.
Six of her huge, colourful murals already adorn buildings around the inner-city, and more are on the way as local businesses line up to pay for her talents.
‘‘It’s seems strange to be charging for something you love doing so much. At first you feel like it’s cheating but I guess it’s a lot of time and effort,’’ she says.
She got the idea after a trip to Los Angeles, where Gabba Gallery owner Jason Ostro introduced her to spraypaint and landed her a space on the wall alongside work by street artists from all over the world.
Back in Wellington, she asked local organisations if she could paint their buildings as a way to share her work with a broader audience.
Wellington’s Home of Compassion Soup Kitchen allowed her to decorate its exterior with an array of colourful foods in her signature style.
Soup kitchen manager Karen Holloway says she was pleased when Wafer reached out and thought it would be amazing if the facility’s whanau helped her paint.
‘‘She was very respectful of our kaupapa. We would love it if she could paint the rest of the building, she’s just a delight.’’
During high school, Wafer saw art as a hobby but was put off of pursuing it as a career because she worried it would oppress her creative freedom. It wasn’t until a few years later she turned back to art as a way to channel her energy into something constructive.
Wafer is entirely self-taught, pulling ideas and techniques from other artists and incorporating them into her own style.
She had never experimented with paintings of such a large-scale before but was drawn to the challenge from her desire to make art accessible for everyone.
Wafer says being a mother is a huge part of her identity. ‘‘Being a parent of an autistic child and observing the special, unique way he interacts with others and the world gives another perspective on everything.’’