Boon time for street artists
Ten new artworks created by 12 artists will adorn the walls of Hamilton once this weekend’s Boon Hamilton Street Art Festival is done.
The annual festival is a simultaneous act of creation that is altering the appearance of the central city, which now features numerous murals created in the course of previous Boon festivals.
Slowly but surely, it is effectively transforming the metropolis a gigantic outdoor art gallery.
This year’s three-day event, which began on Friday, features some artists who have already stamped their artistic mark on the Hamilton landscape.
Chief among these is Bruce McLachlan, who is responsible for the now-famed ‘‘peace wall’’ on Norton Rd, next door to his studio and gallery.
Initially featuring the visage of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, the mural has been expanded to include civil rights hero Martin Luther King and musicians John Lennon and Bob Marley. The face of fellow musical icon David Bowie adorns a panel nearby.
The wall has become a magnet for selfie-takers, who use it as a backdrop for their Snapchat and Instagram postings.
Mclachlan will be turning his talents to an interior wall of the Centre Place shopping mall, near the entrance to the Hoyts Metro cinema complex.
An exterior wall of Centre Place facing Anglesea St is being transformed by the street artist known as Enox, while around the next two corners the wall next to the Nandos restaurant is being tacked by KaLani Lanusi and Melinda Butt is transforming an area opposite the Starbucks cafe.
Kell Sunshine, who last year created the mural Out of Water on the wall of the old Municiple Pools, facing Victoria St, is this year collaborating with fellow artist Michael Moore on an artwork in Anglesea St. An outside wall of the largely featureless Hamilton City Council chambers will be subject to the artistic attentions of Daniel Ormsby and Jeremy Shirley, who is already well known in Hamilton for his work brightening various bus stops and other structures around the metropolis.
The facade of the Hamilton Central Library will be transformed by artist Christie Wright.
The artist known as T Wei will take on a wall in the communal space known as Victoria on the River, while Stephen Templar will daub his handiwork on a wall down the road at the Three Leg Frog restaurant in Victoria St.
Finally, a surface in Collingwood St will be subject to an upgrade by Dinho Bento.
More details about the festival and the artists involved can be found on the Boon Facebook page and boonstreetart.co.nz.