On a recent cycling trip to Napier, the Polish Bear and I were astonished to find the most amazing street art in the side alleys, shop fronts and carpark walls. Art Deco Napier is a place full of surprises.
Seawalls Napier: Bringing the oceans to the streets
Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans is a groundbreaking street art project created by PangeaSeed members and supporting artists to help bring the beauty and the plight of the world’s oceans into streets around the globe via art and activism.
Within the span of five days in March 2017, a group of internationally renowned artists created 29 large-scale, thought-provoking public murals, which were realized throughout the Ahuriri and Napier area. Each piece sheds light on New Zealand’s pressing marine environmental issues such as shark finning, overfishing, coastal development, climate change, and endangered marine life conservation, furthering PangeaSeed Foundation’s ARTivism (Art + Activism) initiative.
Celeste Byers’s mural addresses the endangered Fiordland Penguins, which nest in the rainforests and ocean rock caves of New Zealand’s South Island when they are not living in the sea. Their populations have decreased since human arrival and in the past 35 years, their population has gone down from 10,000 breeding pairs to 3,000. Humans have caused a loss of their habitat and oil spills, and have introduced the biggest threat to the species – predators, such as dogs, cats, stoats, and rats.
Askew One: Title: “Kaitiaki” “With my mural for Sea Walls, Napier, I was attempting to address several interrelated issues. I think the deeper I look into issues like ocean conservation I realize that nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything is connected because we live on a planet that is actually a closed system. To allow things to recycle within that system we have to be conscious of consuming more harmoniously with the system as opposed to being so disruptive. I can talk about how we are driving climate change, how it is warming the planet and subsequently causing ocean acidification which is destroying the reefs and their complex ecosystems – what’s harder is to then unpack the myriad of related consequences. Those range from the harm to all the planets creatures, the environment, economics, social and political. I cannot stress this enough – if you strip away all the talk, the political posturing and all the corporate spin, every issue we face as a species relates back to our relationship with this planet. Something that may sound as random or inconsequential to your life as a dead reef in small island nation will have an impact on everyone at some point. This mural is inspired by those thoughts and dedicated to all our neighboring Pacific Island nations, most likely the least contributors to the problem yet on the very frontline of the consequences of climate change. Big thanks to Frankie Adams for being the model for this work.”
Celeste Byers’s mural addresses the endangered Fiordland Penguins, which nest in the rainforests and ocean rock caves of New Zealand’s South Island when they are not living in the sea. Their populations have decreased since human arrival and in the past 35 years, their population has gone down from 10,000 breeding pairs to 3,000. Humans have caused a loss of their habitat and oil spills, and have introduced the biggest threat to the species – predators, such as dogs, cats, stoats, and rats.
Aaron Glasson: Pania of the Reef is a historical Maori story of love and respect for the ocean that has become one of Napier’s most well known symbols and is retold throughout New Zealand. Pania was a sea-maiden who married a local man, their shape-shifting son Moremore can be seen today in the form of sea animals that serve as an omen, and Pania’s body now makes up Napier’s most famous reef. Aaron worked closely with local Maori and the family of Pania to create his mural that depicts the story of her life, painting her decedents in the role Pania and creating a contemporary interpretation this meaningful history.
Aaron Glasson: Pania of the Reef is a historical Maori story of love and respect for the ocean that has become one of Napier’s most well known symbols and is retold throughout New Zealand. Pania was a sea-maiden who married a local man, their shape-shifting son Moremore can be seen today in the form of sea animals that serve as an omen, and Pania’s body now makes up Napier’s most famous reef. Aaron worked closely with local Maori and the family of Pania to create his mural that depicts the story of her life, painting her decedents in the role Pania and creating a contemporary interpretation this meaningful history.
Celeste Byers’s mural addresses the endangered Fiordland Penguins, which nest in the rainforests and ocean rock caves of New Zealand’s South Island when they are not living in the sea. Their populations have decreased since human arrival and in the past 35 years, their population has gone down from 10,000 breeding pairs to 3,000. Humans have caused a loss of their habitat and oil spills, and have introduced the biggest threat to the species – predators, such as dogs, cats, stoats, and rats.
Kai’ili Kaulukukui: “This mural addresses the importance of Maui’s Dolphins, which are critically endangered and the tiny remainder is dwindling rapidly. They are the smallest species of dolphin on the planet, and have unusual breeding practices that lead to a low reproduction rate. We need to speak up for them now before they quietly disappear. I tried to present them as large as possible to represent the immediate importance of this issue.”
Phibs: Every minute, a garbage truck full of plastic makes its way into the earth’s oceans and plastics are expected to outweigh fish by the year 2050. Every single piece of plastic ever made still exists on earth and now it is breaking down into tiny particles in our seas. “It is the responsibility of us all to protect, respect, and care for our Mother Earth and all her beauty.”
Cracked Ink: “I decided that I wanted my design and message to be strong and quite literal. I think whilst conveying such an important message about overfishing, with really fine details and information, it’s important that the viewer interpret it properly. Overfishing is one of the biggest threats to the health of seas and its inhabitants, and we all need to make significant changes to reverse the damage that has been done.”
Aaron Glasson: Pania of the Reef is a historical Maori story of love and respect for the ocean that has become one of Napier’s most well known symbols and is retold throughout New Zealand. Pania was a sea-maiden who married a local man, their shape-shifting son Moremore can be seen today in the form of sea animals that serve as an omen, and Pania’s body now makes up Napier’s most famous reef. Aaron worked closely with local Maori and the family of Pania to create his mural that depicts the story of her life, painting her decedents in the role Pania and creating a contemporary interpretation this meaningful history.
Aaron Glasson: Pania of the Reef is a historical Maori story of love and respect for the ocean that has become one of Napier’s most well known symbols and is retold throughout New Zealand. Pania was a sea-maiden who married a local man, their shape-shifting son Moremore can be seen today in the form of sea animals that serve as an omen, and Pania’s body now makes up Napier’s most famous reef. Aaron worked closely with local Maori and the family of Pania to create his mural that depicts the story of her life, painting her decedents in the role Pania and creating a contemporary interpretation this meaningful history.
Copyright Content Catnip 2017
Aaron Glasson: Pania of the Reef is a historical Maori story of love and respect for the ocean that has become one of Napier’s most well known symbols and is retold throughout New Zealand. Pania was a sea-maiden who married a local man, their shape-shifting son Moremore can be seen today in the form of sea animals that serve as an omen, and Pania’s body now makes up Napier’s most famous reef. Aaron worked closely with local Maori and the family of Pania to create his mural that depicts the story of her life, painting her decedents in the role Pania and creating a contemporary interpretation this meaningful history.
Askew One: Title: “Kaitiaki” “With my mural for Sea Walls, Napier, I was attempting to address several interrelated issues. I think the deeper I look into issues like ocean conservation I realize that nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything is connected because we live on a planet that is actually a closed system. To allow things to recycle within that system we have to be conscious of consuming more harmoniously with the system as opposed to being so disruptive. I can talk about how we are driving climate change, how it is warming the planet and subsequently causing ocean acidification which is destroying the reefs and their complex ecosystems – what’s harder is to then unpack the myriad of related consequences. Those range from the harm to all the planets creatures, the environment, economics, social and political. I cannot stress this enough – if you strip away all the talk, the political posturing and all the corporate spin, every issue we face as a species relates back to our relationship with this planet. Something that may sound as random or inconsequential to your life as a dead reef in small island nation will have an impact on everyone at some point. This mural is inspired by those thoughts and dedicated to all our neighboring Pacific Island nations, most likely the least contributors to the problem yet on the very frontline of the consequences of climate change.
Beautiful and quirky Napier
This remote city on the eastern outcrop of the North Island is a hub of artistic creativity, quirky ideas and environmental activism. The city abuts the Taupo Volcanic corridor, a geothermal wonder and an active and bubbling field of geothermal activity. Therefore, Napier has borne the brunt of several catalcysmic earthquakes over the centuries. The most recent earthquake in 1931 flattened the city and killed 256 people, injuring thousands. To this day it’s known as the most deadliest natural disaster in New Zealand history.
As a result of that dark event, the flattened city of Napier was rebuilt from nothing to fit with the modern art deco style of the 20’s and 30’s. Art historians, film-makers, artists and architects love the city of Napier for its unique take on Art Deco design. This includes original lead-lighting, architraves and architecture that gives a distinctively retro look to everything in the city. Parks, city buildings, cinemas, open air theatres, clocks, municipal features like toilet blocks are all created in the Art Deco style.
Over the decades, Napier has become a holiday destination for people in both Auckland and Wellington. With its sunny Mediterranean climate, beautiful Pacific ocean outlook, great food and prime location close to vineyards in the Hawkes Bay region, its a magnet for weekend visitors, retirees and younger people looking to bring up families.
More recently, Napier has become the hip and trendy (and affordable) alternative for young people to move, compared to Auckland where it’s virtually impossible to purchase a house under 1 million anywhere in the city.
The city has a great open-hearted vibe and now with the addition of exceptional street art, there is a lot of reasons to visit sunny Napier. I have to admit that this is my favourite town in New Zealand because of the above cultural reasons. I have referred to it as a city, but just a proviso it’s more of a town than a city by international standards
The message of Seawalls
Seawalls and the Pangeaseed Foundation is all about using street art to bring the urgent plight of the oceans to the fore of public discussion. Our oceans are the Earth’s life support system, providing 70% of the oxygen we breathe, a sixth of the animal protein people eat, medicines that keep us alive and healthy, and so much
more, human impact in the form of overfishing, climate change, development, plastics, and other forms of pollution are taking a toll on the health of our seas.
Unfortunately, these critical issues are often complex, multi-faceted and hard to understand for the average citizen. Through public art, Sea Walls and the Pangeaseed Foundation translate facts into visual stories that engage the public in a non-confrontational manner, and increase awareness.
All artists who contribute to Sea Walls volunteer their time and exceptional talent to our cause. Sea Walls nurtures a community of creative ambassadors for our world’s oceans.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Content Catnip 
One thought on “Seawalls: Artists for Oceans in Quirky Napier, New Zealand”