MURAL ARTIST BRIGHTENS UP HIS TOWN
Who would have thought that a grade 7 Laddsworth pupil who bunked school to tag streets signs, would years later be the man beautifying his home town with colourful murals!
Hilton’s very own mural artist, Jono Hornby, is responsible for the flowers on both sides of the bridge over the railway on Hilton Avenue; the rainbow tunnel on Groenekloof Road that was painted last year as a community effort; and more recently, you may have spotted a colourful mural on the wall facing the car park at the Quarry Centre, towards BP garage.
He has also done a few murals in hidden and unseen places around Hilton, where very few may tread, but those who do wander off the beaten track (or on to literal tracks) will be rewarded with unexpected and striking artwork.
Although at 11 he was a subject of concern among” his teachers who “feared where [his love for graffiti] would lead”, Hornby said he loves the story of where his passion for street art started.
“It’s a reminder to not judge the value of something you don’t understand. I know many public artists with similar stories who are now celebrated by the people who put them down at the time.”
He has since upgraded from tagging signs to making art accessible to everyone, everywhere. Hornby has painted 36 murals around Pietermaritzburg and Hilton, and is “always scouting for new walls to paint”.
For Hornby, it’s an amazing feeling to be able to “uplift spaces” around his hometown with his colourful art.
“Giving colour to my surroundings has become quite a fundamental part of who I am, and I really believe in the transformative power of art,” he said.
Although a commercial mural artist, he has a huge passion for public art and is drawn to the accessibility street art allows.
“S treet art levels the playing fields. It takes art out of galleries and gives it to the public. It can put a lawyer and a homeless person side by side with the same opportunity for appreciation,” he explained.
A fair amount of his murals around Hilton have been pro bono work, but he has also received funding and sponsorships from residents and business, especially Harcourts, which funded most of the rainbow tunnel, and BP garage, which funded one side of the floral bridge. Accessibility is important to his work, so he tries to choose walls that are most accessible to the public.
“I would love to access more private walls that are visible to the public, but these are trickier. There are ethical issues with funding private walls through community donation, so ideally I’d love to get some commissions from residents who have high visibility walls,” he said, adding that his dream is to organise an annual public arts festival in Hilton.
“There are plans taking shape for an arts collective that will be able to facilitate regular projects, but it’s a bit premature to share at this stage.” !