I was really glad that I had kept the spare days of my travel pass with Stray to stop for a while in Christchurch. Sadly due to the devastating earthquake of 2011 many buildings in the city centre were damaged, including the iconic Cathedral. Street art was thought to be a colourful distraction from the vacant lots and surviving earthquake damaged buildings that seem to plague much of the city area. It’s as though the city is a blank canvas to be painted. Street artists from New Zealand and further afield flocked to take on the challenge of revitalising and brightening the city.
We arrived in the city on a Friday afternoon and after checking in to our accommodation, a few of us walked into town, accompanied by Joachim who worked in the hostel, to see the sights, after a lunch in the food market in Cathedral Square, Conny and I strolled around taking some photographs shown below. I will try to identify the location and artists where possible.
A collection of panels by Hayley King (AKA Flox), spelling out ‘No Place Like Home’ adorns 12 wall panels and 75 metres in Plymouth Lane.
As the city rebuilds much of this art has and will continue to disappear, there was one piece I particularly wished to capture, the Ballerina by Owen Dippie on the rear wall of the Theatre Royal, but due to a new building in front of it, I was only able to see the top of it, I have added a link to allow you to see it in full.
I also visited Lyttelton, the port town for Christchurch, which I had visited many times in the past, where I discovered a fine set of murals, created by Los Angeles-based Christchurch artist Guy Ellis, (AKA Dcypher), capturing the maritime history and community spirit of the town.
[Auckland] – [North Island] – [South Island] – [Greymouth]
Jim's travels 