1
20
BECK WHEELER - Beck Wheeler
REAKT - Based in Auckland, Reakt
studied Visual Arts in New Zealand before
moving to Australia. A multi-disciplinary
artist, her paintings and drawings have
been exhibited in Melbourne, Spain, UK,
USA and Canada.
makes art, paints walls and does tattoos.
He has strong elements of his cultural
background throughout his work and will
be bringing a very indigenous style of
abstracted typography to Graffiato.
2
8
14
15
21
BMD - “We ain’t wordological masters,
DRYPNZ - Based in Wellington, Drypnz
GHSTIE - Wellington based Ghstie’s
being we play in the visual of our
environmental disaster, would lose the
sane in streets so mundane …”
has been creating murals and street
around around NZ since 2005. He regularly
exhibits in NZ and Australia, and is also
represented in the UK by ZeroCool Gallery.
iconic 3-eyed character has graced walls
and galleries over NZ and Australia for the
past six years.
ROACH - Sydney based Roach has lead a
3
9
15
22
BS CREW - The Burn Styles Crew are
EDITOR - Editor started painting in
KAME - Hailing from Columbia, Kame
Taupo graffiti writers who have been
involved with community street art and
youth workshops since 2007.
South Africa in 2003, and since moving
to NZ in 2007 has travelled and painted
around the country. Editor’s work consists
of distinctive abstract lettering and
geometric abstractions.
has been painting walls for ten years, with
work that ranges from letter-based pieces
to fruit salad figurative paintings.
SEEK - Cinzah Seekayem is a freelance
4
10
16
23
CITY - With more than ten years of
ENFORCE1 - Enforce1 has a long history
KASIK – Wellington based freelance Artist
painting walls, Auckland based City is
currently creating abstracted figurative
artworks with nods to Picasso and comic art.
of working in many visual arts fields, and
is best known for his stylised stencil work
of animals and portraits, which can been
seen in both public spaces and galleries
around Auckland.
who has been creating illustrations, street
art and murals around New Zealand since
2008. Kasik combines realism and illustrative
techniques to bring designs to the viewer in a
striking and sometimes shocking way.
TANJA JADE - Tanja is one of few female
5
11
17
18
COMPONENT – Self-taught artist and
ERIN FORSYTH - A prolific artist for
MICA STILL - Originally from Western
illustrator, working predominantly in spray
paint and stencils with artistic influences
drawn from music, art, and local urban
environment.
over a decade, Erin is renowned for her
black and white illustrations. Her work
has featured in magazines and galleries
around the world, including French
publication ‘Lurve’.
6
12
18
25
CRACKED INK - Originally from the
FLOX - Flox was born in Auckland’s
MR G - Sydney based multi-disciplined
fine arts precinct K Road in 2003, and
has exhibited widely throughout NZ,
expanding her practice to include prints,
live painting, interior murals, private
commissions and collaborations.
designer / artist who has loved drawing &
art since childhood. Currently working on
spray-painted commissioned portraits of
dogs and celebrities.
TRUSTME - founding member of
North of England, Cracked Ink moved
to NZ nearly 6 years ago. With quirky
characters and bold colours, Cracked Ink’s
artworks project expressions and feelings
that people can easily relate to.
7
13
19
DAGER - Dager has been scribbling on
GASP - With inspiration from popular
NUMSKULL - Numskull has been a
walls for more than twenty years, and
honed his skills through attending Art
School, and creates large scale artworks
with intense photo-realistic layers.
culture of the 1950-60’s, Gasp’s artwork is
an appropriation of imagery from the pop
art era combined with today.
USA, Miss Mica is now a Wellington
based artist who creates bright, graphic
and complex artworks, with humans and
animals combining.
part of the Australian graffiti and street
art worlds for over 12 years. His work both
indoor and outdoors can be found around
Australia and different parts of the world.
steady 16 year graffiti career with orbiting
interests in typography, curation and
chicken crimps.
Artist/ Illustrator/ Muralist. He works
in a diverse practice which ranges
from creating large scale public mural
installations through to fine art based
Gallery shows and Illustration.
artists working in this field, and is a long
standing member of Auckland’s art and
street art scene. Her character based work
is renowned for both it’s menace, and it’s
‘cute as hell’ nature.
24
TEPID - South Island based Tepid began
dabbling with spraypaint after a strong
interest in art throughout school and
currently pushing to create large scale
technical murals using a mix of acrylics
and spray paint.
Auckland based art crew The Cut Collective,
TrustMe is one of NZ’s most prolific and
industrious artists around, with over 6000
stickers, posters, stencils and paintings
produced in a 5 year period.
26
WERT159 - Wert moved to New Zealand
from Russia three years, and has been
painting around the world since 2005.
He often works collaboratively to create
large wall artworks, and his style mainly
features characters over letters.
Registered Charity: CC28890
Ross Liew
Graffiato Curator
Explore the artworks, read about the artists, and visit our
website to learn more about the next Graffiato weekend
in Taupō, New Zealand’s home of street art.
Kylie Hawker - General Manager - [email protected]
Phone 07 376 0406 or 0275 038 234
Lake Taupō Arts Festival Trust, P O Box 1324, Taupō 3351
or contact us:
BECK WHEELER l BMD l BS CREW
CITY l COMPONENT l CRACKED INK
DAGER l DRYPNZ l EDITOR
ENFORCE1 l ERIN FORSYTH l FLOX
GASP l GHSTIE l KAME l KASIK
MICA STILL l MR G l NUMSKULL
REAKT l ROACH l SEEK l TANJA JADE
TEPID l TRUSTME l WERT159
visit www.erupt.co.nz
For the latest information on Erupt Events
The Graffiato mural collection has been created by New
Zealand’s top street artists, alongside an invited group
of international guests. Graffiato has transformed the
public spaces of Taupō – now home to a collection of
contemporary murals to rival any city in NZ
Street art is more than decoration. It is not surprising
that the compulsion that drives artists to work with
such a challenging site also affects the tone and
content of their work. It takes passion to deal with the
unpredictable nature of what you face when making art
out in the streets. Public scrutiny, the rain, the wind, the
unpredictable surfaces are just part of the challenge. If
an artist is going to endure this then it makes sense that
their work reflects the passion that drives them outside
in the first place.
New Zealand’s premier
street art festival featuring a
collection of the best and most
recognised street artists.
For some time now street art and graffiti has been
gaining an ever-increasing profile across the world. Given
the credibility that art of this nature has been steadily
accruing, we believed it was about time some effort was
made to celebrate the legitimate pool of talent we have
brewing on our own shores.
Graffiato – New Zealand’s premier street art festival
featuring a collection of our best and most recognised
street artists.
Comments from the Curator
TO COLLEGE & SKATE PARK
Taupo CBD
Site numbers refer
to artist involved
Mangakino
Taupō Skate Park
Head up to Mangakino to view two artworks created by City
and Seek. The Seek artwork adorns a wall in the Mangakino
Community Garden and embraces the local spirit. Alongside
the Community Garden is a small park, and the City artwork
is found on the edge of the park.
The 2012 guest artists teamed up
with local youth to have an open
session at the Taupō Skate Park.
The resulting artworks adorn the
curved surfaces of the skate bowl
and provide some colour and a
fresh vibe in this community owned
facility.
Taupō Airport
A marvellous three dimensional creature greets visitors to
the Taupō Airport. Park the car and wander all sides of the
two buildings to find some hidden features of this unique
and fun artwork - created by BMD.
Other community sites
You can find Graffiato artworks
in hidden spots all around Taupō,
including Laser Plumbing on
Runanga Street with artworks by
Mr G and Dager, Taupō Nui a Tia
college artwork by Kasik, Paetiki
Shops artwork by BS Crew, Apopo
Garage and Domain toilet artworks
by Flawless.
Sea Scout Den
Take a drive down the lakefront to view the artwork created
on the Taupō Sea Scout Den (located on the lake edge near
Mere Road/ Taharepa Reserve).
The Lake Taupō Sea Scouts regularly use their Scout Den for
meetings and activities, and due to its prime position on the
lakefront, this building gathers a lot of attention from those
walking along the Lion’s Walk or out on the water.
Erupt Events worked with the local Sea Scout Leaders and
members on this artwork, which was created by Ghstie and
Tenze.
Skate Park & AC Baths Map
AV
RD
AC
BA
A
TH
S
NTY
SP
Skate
Park
RA
ST
TAU
HAR
A R
D
TA
TO PAETIKI
PA RD
HARE
T
A
OT
The Graffiato artists worked alongside local Turangi
youth to create a lasting collective urban artwork
that has beautified this pedestrian thoroughfare
and created vibrancy and colour in an often gloomy
environment.
COU
Fifteen Graffiato artists are collaborated to create a
giant artwork on the walls of the Turangi Pedestrian
Underpass.
The Underpass provides a valuable safe crossing
point underneath State Highway One for the
residents of Turangi, and given its physical form is
often subject to tagging and unwanted graffiti.
E
AVE
Turangi Pedestrian Underpass
TO SEA SCOUT DEN & AIRPORT