Fine arts graduate begins second giant city mural

April 29, 2016

A Queenstown fine arts graduate is about to start her second giant mural as part of a nationwide painting tour in New Zealand’s main cities to highlight pollution issues.

Artist Tess Sheerin says she will this weekend begin preparation for a massive mural in Dunedin which will feature the crested penguin which makes annual migratory visits along the Dunedin coastline.

Her first mural in her New Zealand’s Worth Loving tour kicked off in New Zealand’s top tourist destination of Queenstown last year and was based on the rainbow trout which are in abundance in Lake Wakatipu.

She plans to paint a total of five large scale street murals around New Zealand - Queenstown (completed), Dunedin (starting now), Christchurch, Wellington and finally Auckland. Each mural will be based on a different ocean species and will effectively engage with members of the public to highlight these environmental issues. View more information here: https://www.facebook.com/cleanupnewzealand/?ref=hl.

“I found in Queenstown there was such a positive response from the community, tourists and local businesses. I believe that by painting these large scale murals around Aotearoa we will be able to engage with a variety of people that normally wouldn’t think twice about the environment,” Sheerin says.

“The global phenomenon of street art (in its array of forms), allows people to manoeuvre through an urban environment in new and unexplored ways. I want to capture the passer by, people who are on their way to the beach to enjoy their lunch. I’m aiming to promote the environmental message at a different angle, right on the streets, to people who perhaps wouldn’t read environmental literature.

“My mission is to inspire, educate and motivate people to take care of the places we love. Cities need large murals to brighten and tidy up some areas. My New Zealand pollution awareness project will make cities more connected with their communities.

“Legal public street art murals all over the world are being commissioned by local business owners, home owners and even city councils. Public art has the power to change the landscape of their communities,” Sheerin says.

“By commissioning and supporting an exterior wall of a building to become a canvas helps improve the look of the building and the surrounding area. It discourages tagging and becomes a destination for the community while contributing to a rise in property values.

“Neighbourhoods with the most murals in New York are the Lower East Side and in Harlem, which weren’t good neighbourhoods. But mural artists there are getting more requests to paint murals on buildings in these areas because landlords believe they will help attract tenants.”

Sheerin hope to receive funding for the projects before contacting city councils for their support. She says pollution is a major issue around New Zealand’s coastline.

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