Paul Walsh

Paul Walsh, commissioned by the Auckland City Council, is part of beautifying the city by painting artworks on the utility and electrical boxes throughout Auckland city.  The vibrant and quirky artworks capture the imagination of passers-by.  Walsh is an artist and illustrator who lives in Auckland, his utility box artwork made by spray paint as a medium, although he also uses water-colour as a medium in some of his other art works.  My particular favourites are the Fox, which situated outside Kokako in Grey Lynn is nicknamed Mr foxy.  He has a particularly cheeky and mysterious expression on his face, for a creature that is menacing in real life, featuring baroque styled patterning in the background.  I also like the adorable red panda reading a book, as it was very nostalgic to me, of reading puffin and penguin books as a child with a very child-like whimsical feel to it.  The cat with the square glasses is very geek sleek, with the popularisation of all things cat on the internet at the moment. 

Grey Lynn

Grey Lynn

Greenlane

Judy Millar

Judy Millar: Rock drop, reminiscent of Roy Liechtenstein's colourful pop art works such as the famous “brushstroke”.  Millar extends on ideas of abstract surrealism of something not being what it really is, to visualize the brushstroke and the movement of the artist, and the three dimension nature of creating art you would expect the piece to use paint itself as a medium.  However, ironically satirically the brushstrokes are jet-printed from her original paintings, to give a cartoon like feel, and the idea of dimension is created from the large size of the sculpture. The sculptural shape itself is injected and conjoint with pieces of plywood that piece to together, like a puzzle, and give an aerial like appearance.

Millar says she was inspired by Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ at the start of making the creation. T he main character wanders through shipwrecks and sees natural rock formations. Millar says, “they think the rocks move…which of course is not true, it’s just the perception of them is so difficult. So this idea of wandering rocks and how perception alters or challenges us was really a lot to do with the title.[1]” ‘Rock drop’ installation is available to view on level one of the Auckland City Art Gallery on Lorne street in the city.

 Further along Lorne street, is the Gow Langsford Gallery which houses several other paintings by Millar, which is noted to display “the gesture of painting.[2]”

---

1 https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/arts/artist-judy-millar-creates-a-show-stopper-at-auckland-art-gallery/

2 https://www.gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz/artists/judy-millar

Colourful Tulips and Orchids Auckland

There is nothing common about the wealth

Street Art Auckland C.B.D

The non-tourist guide to Auckland City

Early one sunny morning I took my time to walk to university in town, which was when I  noticed that the CBD is a very vibrant and artistic place. I noticed these artworks, which I do not usually see, as I'm in too much of a rush to notice my surroundings. It was eye-opening to see different street artists expressions. 

I particularly liked the 'there is nothing common about the wealth' a tongue- in- check play on the issues of wealth inequalities, at the same time making a statement about being part of the 'Common Wealth'.
I also enjoyed the seal which is playful, and lively, on what would be a dreary electrical box.
The Syrian girl also making a political statement, about the war happening and the need to support humankind and the current situation, especially with refugees. This was cleverly placed outside Amnesty International Krd, which at the time of taking the photograph I spoke to someone volunteering there, who decided that it was very Banksy inspired, and may be a copy of the the famous 'Girl with a Balloon' produced in 2002.
The colourful expression of the Maori Tiki, which was created near a tattoo Palour on Krd and the 'Lore' graffiti which was particularly fitting as it means the study of a body of knowledge especially that of traditional anecdotal, or popular nature on a particular subject and was strategically placed in an alley-way near the University of Auckland Law School.