Earthquake Graffiti - Christchurch

A City in Transition

Wounded

Marked by Passers-By

July 2011, Ajr

Knitted Graffiti - Warm Trees & Other Woolly Features

When a group of artists called Knitta kicked off a burst of 'knitted graffiti' in Houston, Texas in 2005, they probably had no idea that they were spawning a new international movement. Put 'knitted graffiti' or 'yarn-bombing' into Google these days and you'll be treated to a colourful worldwide phenomenon designed to "make street art a little more warm and fuzzy."

In the wake of the September 4, 2010 (7.1) earthquake in Christchurch, yarn bombers have been hitting the city's demolition sites and wire barricades. On the weekend, I photographed this colourful tree in Latimer Square and the below Nativity scene, which was part of a Christmas display on the wire barricades cordoning off the severely damaged Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. I have no idea who is responsible for the work but I love it.

When I mentioned these knitted treats on Twitter recently, someone asked me 'what was the point' and 'wouldn't knitters be serving a better purpose by knitting hats for the needy?' Quite possibly, but my answer to that was simple - if you'd been sitting through the 4,500+ after-shocks that Cantabrians have had to endure these past four months, you too, might be happy to see something as simple, as pleasing and as whimsical as a flock of knitted sheep or a tree 'dressed for winter.'

That sort comment - that knitted graffiti is "aimless, a waste of time, worthless, a joke, nonsense" - is not uncommon. Similar remarks have been recorded worldwide. I see urban knitting differently. I think it's brilliant and what can possibly be wrong with beautifying public spaces in such a harmless way. I like good street art of the painted variety, but if you want "aimless, a waste of time, a joke" you only have to look at the hideous, pointless tagging that beautifies nothing. And sadly, as Christchurch's heart is punctuated with tatty patches of earthquake ruin, that pointless (painted) tagging seems to be on the increase.

So usher in the knitters I say!

Usher in the 'world's most inoffensive graffiti.'

The other great quality of yarn-bombing is that brings people together - young and old - and makes them smile. We need smiles - everywhere - but especially in Christchurch right now. To illustrate that very point, when I was photographing the tree in Latimer Square, I was approached by a French tourist. He was bewitched by the tree and spent as much time as me photographing it. It led to some great conversation about the earthquake, about Christchurch and travelling. An unkempt, possibly hung-over person joined us - initially to ask for money but he too, seemed taken with the tree. I took his comment: "Rad man!" to be something of a compliment. A family also came by - "Look Mummy, the tree is wearing a cardy," said one of their young daughters. The yarn-bombers have been busy. Park benches and city statues have also been embellished. Sadly, the powers-that-be have seen fit to remove the hats and satorial decorations from the city's public sculptures (more's the pity in some cases), but the 'knitted' trees and the earthquake barricades remain. I find something very touching in that. Knitting is one of those old crafts that reeks of 'home,' of comfort, of warmth, of security - all the things that have been torn assunder for many Cantabrians; and for me, the yarn bombing - quite apart from the humour and the brightness of it - has done much to 'humanise' the earthquake ruins.

Rubble and Revival - The Christchurch Earthquake

While many of Christchurch's inner city buildings are still fenced off behind safety barriers and others have vanished completely after rapid acts of demolition following the September 4 7.1 earthquake and around 4,500 after-shocks in the four months since, others are already rising from the dust. I cycled by this suburban corner shop yesterday - a few weeks ago a blank section after demolition and now rising afresh. It's a furniture restoration business that has been on this Edgeware corner for decades and, as the sign on their fence suggests, they're not leaving any time soon.

Manchester Courts meanwhile, is a sad pile of rubble that grows smaller by the day. They're talking about opening up that section of Manchester Street again soon and within a few months, I suspect many people will have forgotten what the building even looked like. There's talk the building's owner is planning a modern, three-storey replacement building. I for one, am hoping for unbelievable architectural excellence; that's the only thing that will compensate in even a tiny way, for the demise of Manchester Courts - but as is the way of things, I suspect we might all be disappointed a second time round.

Meanwhile, the Carlton, that great old battleship of a pub on the corner of Papanui and Carlton Mill Roads is sporting some very handsome bracing - above and below. It may well be that I have been living in an earthquake zone for too long, but I'm beginning to see an unexpected 'beauty' in all the ruins and demolition sites, in the bracing and supports and in the graffiti and signs that are emerging around the city.

For some off reason, a part of me expected things to 'come to a standstill' after the unholy shaking of the initial quake and the most powerful after-shocks, but as the big Boxing Day after-shock proved, there's nothing much at all 'standing still' in this city. Every time I roam the city, I find something new - for better or worse - as locals try and resume normal lives.

And what's happening to all those bricks?

You may well ask.

Some have been crushed I believe - for road fill and other similar jobs.

Others pile up in growing heaps on vacant lots. Some have probably been purchased by canny recyclers. One thing is for sure, never was there a better time for Cantabrians to be considering a solid brick barbecue, a garden fireplace or a quaint brick pathway.

Coffee in Centre Place

I'm back in the lanes again - Melbourne's lanes - and specifically Centre Place, which is one of the best of all the lanes for sitting around drinking coffee and taking photographs.

People gather here in their thousands every day.

I always try to arrive at lunch time because the place is packed.

It's not a long lane but it's narrow and both sides are home to 'back-to-back' cafes and sandwhich bars. You often have to wait for a seat as all the cafes are small - some are actually tiny - but it's always worth the wait.

On the other hand, you often get your best photographs by standing around outside. Centre Place is well known for the colourful graffiti that colours the walls in the dog-leg of the lane - and for its posters, its buskers and sightseers, and the constant stream of people taking it as a short cut through to one of the bigger streets. I come here often, so if you want to see more photos - it changes every time you visit - click on Centre Place in the label line below this post - or graffiti.

The Graffiti Crowd

Melbourne's Hosier Lane must be one of the most visited back alleys in Asutralasia. It's famous for its ever-changing display of graffiti. There isnt a surface that hasn't been touched by some enthusiastic graffiti artist - many who seem quite happy to 'scale the heights' to reach the most inaccessible places.

I wander there every time I visit Melbourne and this year, I hung about photographing the photographers. If you wait long enough, someone will always come along and make a twit of themselves for the sake of a take-home photo. I like that - not because I want photos of people looking stupid, but because it reinforces for me that there are vast numbers of people (like me), who find a fun and joyousness in good street art and graffiti, that is somehow liberating. Perhaps I'm just relating to the irrepressible spirit - of both the artists and the photographers/visitors - who want to 'break out of the societal mould' occasionally.

I'm all for that sort of freedom of expression.

I don't like being categorised; and I understand the motivation of people who want to decorate otherwise gloomy parts of an inner city.

I'm inspired by it and it sends me away smiling.

Surely that can't be a bad thing.

You'll find a ton of other graffiti shots on this blog if you click on the word graffiti in the label line below.

Corrugated Iron - Unexpected Beauties

Following on from yesterday's post (below) about Wood's Mill in Addington, I thought I'd say again how much I love corrugated iron as a building material - and, as it turns out, as something of an art material.

I took these photographs of graffiti on the old, corrugated iron grain and storage sheds that sit beside the railway lines. I love the way the iron has aged, rusted and buckled and how the applied paint has settled into the grooves to create unexpected textures and dimensions. I spend hours in places like this, photographing the random markings of phantom graffiti artists.....and what is it about the connection between railways and graffiti? I've noticed that that's an international partnership. The two just seem to go hand-in-hand.

Signs and Shop-Tops

Don't ask me to explain either of these photographs.

Both simply slot into my passion for signs and colour.

CINEMA in Hokitika

Graffiti in Sydenham, Christchurch

Outside Art

We're TRYING to create a little slice of Melbourne in Christchurch - in developing the back lanes that run off Lichfield, High and Manchester Streets. Once a tangle of back alleys that gave access to hefty brick factories and old shops, both areas have been re-developed to include cafes, bars, restaurants and boutique shops. It's not quite Melbourne. For one thing it's only a tiny area by comparison; but I like the way that both areas - SOL and Poplar Lanes - have encouraged the spread of graffiti, street art and whacky creations. It's a stretch to call some of it art but at least it's on the right track.

I was wandering through Poplar Lanes last weekend and was delighted to see the brick walls outside Vespa Cafe (near the French Farmers' Market - featuring here tomorrow), have been adorned with someone's artwork. I like the injection of colour and visual interest. Just a pity they haven't labelled the works with the artist's name; I for one, would like to know more.

Art in the Street

Graffiti

Gisborne

May 2009

A Patchwork of Rooflines

Christchurch October 2009. Ajr

No one could ever accuse Christchurch of being a radical city. By and large it is an architectural wasteland when it comes to the innovative, contemporary architectural statements that I love - the ones that push barriers and defy expectations. So I have to content myself with small changes and additions - like this new burst of colour tucked up among the haphazard rooflines on the corner of Lichfield and Colombo Streets. I like the way it enlivens an otherwise puzzling gathering of roof shapes and building lines. I spotted it when I was driving along Colombo Street on Thursday - my eyes so now attune to the fabric of the city that I see every new scribble of graffiti, every new mural, every new poster or billboard, delighting in a small, transitory visual surprise that may well be gone when I return to the same spot next week.

Art Layers

Love the way someone has decided that Phil Price's sculpture at the intersection of High, Manchester and Lichfield Streets isn't enough in its own right. They've (somehow) scaled one face of it and added a whole heap of ghastly little stickers to it. It will be interesting to see how long they stay there before someone decides they need to be removed.

New Inner City Street Art

I roamed around town for three hours this morning, making the most of the return of fine weather - enjoying taking photos of new signs, posters, shop windows and the like. It's amazing how quickly change takes place in a city and I have a number of places I frequent for that very reason. One of them is Manchester Street - always slightly shabby and interesting, always changing. I noticed these new doors on a fish and chip shop there. They've obviously commissioned a street artist to create a lively, in-context approach for their business. I like that. I like too, that increasing numbers of businesses are hiring graffiti artists to give their premises - and even their vehicles a distinctive look. You'll find the same thing happening in SOL Square (South of Lichfield), which probably started 'the legitimising of street art' in Christchurch. The developers there hired graffiti artists from Auckland right back when they opened about three years ago, and the place is a visual feast of colour and chaos. This is a new work that has been created on one of the lane walls just this last week. I'm all for it. Good street art gives the inner city character and imbues dark alleys with colour. What can be wrong with that?