Otumoetai - 'The sleeping tide!'

We painted a private commission while down at the Street Prints Mauao event. Situated at the end of a private driveway, this mural was painted as a community wall for all to enjoy. Designed to bring a message of peace & unity to the local area incorporating aspects of the local Māori history, we painted a visual story that incorporated the Tui watching carefully over its neigbourhood & the people who live there.

23 September 1845 marked a significant day in the history between Ngāi Te Rangi (Tauranga) and Te Arawa (Rotorua & Maketu) tribes of the area. A large stone was taken from Mauao & chiefs from both tribes made peace after 10 years of war by placing their foot on top, shaking hands, a hongi & smoking a pipe as a symbol of unity. The 'peace stone' remains a token & reminder of peace, it is now held at Tauranga Museum & this mural is about reminding those who look that unity within communities is the way forward, coming together to create a place of safety, fun & support that involves everyone. What a privilege to paint this 'message' & to support the vision of an amazing couple who want to make positive choices that benefit the wider community & not just themselves.

Street Prints Mauao

What a privilege to be part of the first Street Prints Mauao event in Mount Maunganui. We have spent the past 4 days painting a mural as a response to the Rena Disaster in 2011 where the container ship MV Rena ran aground off the shore of Tauranga. 2000 sea birds were killed & the food source & ecological systems of over 20,000 others were effected along with the environment & marine life.

The whāre (traditional Māori house) design represents Tauranga as the home of the kāitiaki (guardians) of the coastal area - the Parekareka (Spotted Shag). The tukutuku panels are chapters in the story of the birds involved in this disaster, each Māori design has been specifically chosen to communicate the story we feel is important to tell. A basic breakdown of each design is:

Panel 1 (far left): Roimata - the Albatross tears acknowledge that a 'wrong' has occured in this place/history. The 3 turquoise shapes representational of the 3 iwi of Tauranga Moana (Tauranga Harbour): Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga who have all been effected by this disaster.

Panel 2: Pātiki - a time of favourable harvest to come after the disaster, acknowledging the important & delicate recovery process for the enviornment & marine/birdlife back to its former glory.

Panel 3: Poutama - the ascension to the heavens to gain the wisdom/knowledge required to prevent these disasters from happening again & bringing that down into the realm we live in.

Panel 4: (far right): The 3 shapes within the design acknowledging the 3 sacred maunga of the region Otanewainuku, Puwhenu & Mauao - restoring mana (pride/strength) to the region.

As artists' we visually tell stories, sometimes cryptic & at others literal - in every mural there are layers under layers of meaning & purpose. The meaning of Mauoa ('caught by the morning sun') is incorporated through the use of the sunset in the background, each design component carefully chosen to tell the best story we can. Thank you to Tauranga Council & to the business owners who gave their permission for us to paint their 2 story building without ever seeing a design lol that took a lot of courage :)

The Block NZ - Villa Wars 2015

If you didn't see it all over your television screen, the Block NZ kitchen reveal was probably one of the most controversial episodes of the shows history so far. A total flop or an absoltute genius moment, we were approached by Hayden & Jamie to paint 'Be Bold' in a graffiti style for their kitchen splashback & it stirred the interior design hornets nest to say it nicely haha.

Everyones' opinion will differ, the world will never agree on wether this was a good or bad idea - what we loved was that someone had the guts to follow their dreams, put the judgement of others aside & to persue their out of the box idea. #BEBOLD has become a statement to encourage young New Zealanders to step out, take the leap & live outiside of the box - we were stoked to be part of their journey.