Porirua Last Stop Before Global Mural Paint-Off!

www.elementsfestival.org.nz

MEDIA RELEASE - January 23, 2008

FESTIVAL OF THE ELEMENTS
WAITANGI DAY
6 February 2008
Elsdon Park and Mana College grounds,
Porirua

PORIRUA’s Festival of the Elements on Waitangi Day will be the last stop for one of New Zealand’s foremost trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) muralists, Marc Spijkerbosch, before he heads to Australia in March to compete in a global mural paint-0ff.

Marc Spijkerbosch will paint a huge mural as part of the Festival’s Kapi-Mana ART ACTION! programme, assisted by a small group of Mana College art students.

“My next fixture after the Festival will be in Tasmania to compete in a Global mural paint-off with nine finalists from the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia, and other countries,” Marc said.

The paint-off, along with a Global Mural conference, will take place in the North Western town of Sheffield, famous for the murals painted on its buildings.

While he’s excited to compete internationally, Marc says he is also very much looking forward to showing his art at the Festival of the Elements.
…/2

He will be painting the mural in the gym at Mana College from 11am through to 4pm.

“I’m planning to paint a local landscape in classic trompe l'oeil genre – perhaps a patio with ornate balustrading looking out over a serene vista,” he said.

“I’ll engineer the artwork to suit my novice helpers, and will introduce some ivy into the architecture.”

Marc said he would arrive in Wellington with much of the ‘bones’ of the mural in place.

“So there will be enough time to add the embellishments and co-ordinate the helpers here. I'm looking forward to a great result!”

Over the last decade, Marc Spijkerbosch has painted around 300 trompe l'oeil works for hotels, restaurants, residential, commercial, and civic clients

The full programme for this year’s Festival of the Elements is available on the Festival website at www.elementsfestival.org.nz

ENDS