Christchurch is famous for its street art. So famous, in fact, that in 2016 Lonely Planet named the city as one of the world’s best for experiencing the art form known as neo-muralism.
You can wander the streets and find colourful, artistic surprises around corners, adorning alleyways and stretched over the soaring canvas of multi-storey buildings. But the best way to fully appreciate the abundance of artworks is on a Watch This Space Street Art Tour.
Guide Reuben Woods is an art historian with a passion for graffiti and street art. Having written a PhD thesis exploring graffiti and street art in post-earthquake Christchurch, he’s the ideal host to provide fascinating insights into the city's many and varied artworks.
On a two-hour amble around the central city you’ll marvel at incredible, large-scale street art by both local and international artists, explore the meaning behind each piece and the awe-inspiring level of skill required to create massive murals with spray paint, often in just a couple of days.
After Christchurch’s catastrophic 2011 earthquakes, street art began to make its way in from the fringes to the central city, with artists offering creative contributions to Christchurch’s recovery – sometimes quite explicitly; Reuben tells of murals that were giant sticking plasters painted over cracks in buildings.
Roa's Moa, street art painted on the exterior wall of the Canterbury Museum. Photo by Jo Percival
Art also played a functional role in the wounded city. At a time when many landmark buildings had been destroyed, street art became an important navigational tool in the new landscape – instead of buildings, murals became the key features.
‘Roa’s Moa' is a giant black and white piece on the wall of Canterbury Museum created by Belgian artist Roa. Reuben describes the painterly skill required to craft such a large artwork in a narrow space, working within the difficult parameters of the building’s windows and roof angles. And despite being on an external wall, this mural is catalogued as part of the museum’s collection.
Over at the gothic Arts Centre the street art is much more subtle. Rather than boisterously colourful murals there is a small vending machine – a Kunstautomat – by German artist Lars Kaiser that dispenses original works by local artists in exchange for a handful of gold coins. It is essentially a lucky dip – you might get a painting, a tiny sculpture, a sketch or a cartoon.
Creative stonework at the Christchurch Arts Centre. Photo by Jo Percival.
As part of the Arts Centre’s painstaking post-earthquake restoration there have also been some sneaky details incorporated into the stonework. Instead of sculpted fleur-de-lis, the mouldings outside Cellar Door restaurant have been replaced with hands – wearing a wristwatch, holding a Bic pen and a half-eaten biscuit. There are faces instead of flowers, including one wearing a gas mask. While these quirky stone sculptures can’t technically be considered street art, they function in the same way – surprising, delighting and rewarding closer inspection.
Reuben talks about the ephemeral nature of street art. As urban landscapes evolve and new buildings are constructed, some artworks will disappear or be obscured, but that is all part of the process. Neo-muralism embraces the temporary.
The giant mural on the back of Christchurch's Riverside Markets building. Photo by Jo Percival.
On the back of the buildings housing Riverside Markets is an enormous piece of art – a bit like a set in a stage play – that depicts an entire street scene, a homage to heritage buildings that were lost in the quake. Created by the DTR crew, artists Dcypher, Ikarus, Jacob Yikes and Wongi Wilson, the piece incorporates the points of the roofline for full 3D effect.
Over by Little High you’ll find Olive, the most famous stray cat in Ōtautahi. Painted by SwiftMantis, Olive is depicted as a multi-storey, hyper-realistic painting – from the nick in her ear to the tactile-looking black fur. Created in conjunction with the Cats Protection League of Canterbury, the artwork was designed to raise awareness for stray cats in the city and was successful in finding the sweet-looking kitty a new home.
The mural of Olive, the most famous stray cat in Christchurch. Photo by Jo Percival.
Street art has evolved from its rebellious origins. Once the domain of disenfranchised youth using art as a tool for expression, today street art has become a showcase of incredible skill – the mastering of spray paint, an incredibly challenging medium, within public, urban spaces.
Story and photos by Jo Percival for the Winter 2023 issue of AA Directions magazine.
Explore more from AA Directions magazine while you're here:
- Meet 20-year-old Ella Ward, a successful artist in Ōtautahi Christchurch
- Top tips for safe winter driving
- We share budgeting advice for anyone feeling the sting of rising costs
