Street Prints Manaia Art Trail
In 2019, some of the world’s best street artists took part in the Street Prints Manaia, International Art Festival in Whangārei. 15 large scale art murals based on the theme “Tuia te muka Tāngata” “Weaving the threads of Humanity” were completed and Whangārei and Aotearoa have been gifted with these incredible works of art.
Download or view the Whangārei Sculpture and Art Trails brochure(PDF, 1MB) with map and enjoy a self guided walk following the Trail.
1. Untitled
By Amanda Valdes from Miami / USA
Located at 8 Hannah Street, Whangarei
Inspired by Māori mythology and Tāwhirimātea; the god of weather, thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms.
2. Untitled
By Askew One / Elliot O’Donnell from New York City / USA (originally Auckland, NZ)
Located at 17 Finlayson Street
Approximately 25 local children, youths and parents painted the lower half in a workshop held by Askew. The remaining are 3D scans of parts of Whangārei
3. Respect Tomorrow
By Bryce Williams and Jasmine Fuller from Whangārei, NZ
Located on the corner of John Street and Dent Street
“I decided to paint a weave pattern with this significant text and the help of my fiancé, Jasmine Fuller. The blue represents the beautiful waterways and oceans of Whangārei, and the green represents the lush native forests. These threads of Whangārei are weaved together with a balanced text 'Respect Tomorrow” within.
My take on Humanity is that together as a community we look after our resources including the waterways and the forests to 'Respect Tomorrow”.
4. Tuia Te Muka Tangata
By Charles and Janine Williams from Auckland / NZ
Located at 168 Bank Street
Charles and Janine say “Represented in our design are the differing accounts of the local mountainous terrain of eastern Whangārei which speak of five brothers to some and to others a story of an unfaithful partner. Despite these differences, the five maunga (mountains) appear in the stories of all local people in some way and our design acknowledges these Iwi accounts.
Mount Manaia (set apart in a darker shade) and the local Hātea river are acknowledged by the use of kaokao and triangular shapes. In Māori mythology the Manaia is depicted as having the head of a bird, the tail of a fish and the body of man - the use of the Kotare (Kingfisher) acknowledges this motif and its origins.”
5. CANDICE 00:00,02
By Dourone from Spain and France
Located behind the ASB, Butter Factory Lane
6. Kotahitanga – Unity
By Earnest Bradley from Whangārei, NZ
Located at 70 John Street
7. Selenaia
By Fin Dac from Dublin / Ireland
Located at 10 Hannah Street
Fin says “‘Selenaia’ was my take on the Street Prints Manaia theme ‘weaving the threads of humanity’. A split image highlighting the dual ethnicity of model Selena Bellingham. Her clothing and adornments reflect both her Māori and Filipino heritage as well as the attributes associated with them.
8. Opening up, Sharing the Colours, Communication is Connection
By Gina Kiel from Wellington, NZ
Located at 26 James Street
Gina describes this mural as “Opening up, Sharing the Colours, Communication is connection” which fits well with the Festival theme of ‘Tuia te muka Tāngata’ or ‘Weaving the threads of Humanity’
9. Alex and Carmilita
By Lisa King from Adelaide, Australia
Located at 49 Walton Street
Lisa says “this mural is titled ‘Alex and Carmilita’ “The brief for this festival was ‘Weaving the threads of Humanity’ The response was to build a portrait of my partner, Jarrad Jackson’s father Alex Herewane who has strong Māori blood but also houses indigenous Australian roots. Thus the perfect human for the weaving of the threads and the interconnection of the people of the lands, both Polynesian and Indigenous Australian together in unity as one.
Alex’s very proud Māori sister ‘Aunty Carm’ passed away unexpectedly three months ago and so it felt right to build a piece where I could bring a little bit of her back to the Homelands. This one’s for you beautiful Herewanes.”
10. Manaia
By Mateus Bailon from São Paulo, Brazil
Located behind Quest Apartments, Butter Factory Lane
This is Bailon’s depiction of Manaia, which is a mythological creature in Māori culture, and is a common motif in Māori carving and jewellery. The Manaia is usually depicted as having the head of a bird and the tail of a fish and the body of a man, though it is sometimes depicted as a bird, a serpent, or a human figure in profile.
11. Untitled
By Melinda Butt from Whangārei, NZ
Located in the Bank Street Gallery, Bank Street
“The theme of the event was Weaving the Threads of Humanity. This abstract landscape references two hands rising up through the land symbolising man’s interaction and connection with the earth. There is a hidden portrait facing upwards as the bird takes flight just in front of the nose.
I often reference flight in my work for a number of reasons. For this image, it symbolises the past, present and future, a transcendence of one realm into the next.”
12. HONGI - The Breath of Life
By Millo from Rome, Italy
Located at the back of the Police Station, Lower Cameron Street
A hongi is the traditional Māori greeting in New Zealand. It is done by pressing one's nose and forehead (at the same time) to another person. During the hongi, the Ha, or breath of life is exchanged and intermingled. The breath of life is also considered the sharing of both parties' souls.
13. Tena ko te tumanako mo toku Iwi - Hope for my people
By Mike Tupaea from Whangārei, NZ, assisted by Bub Dewes and Isaiah-Matthew Rameka"
Located at Te Manawa The Hub, Town Basin
The mural is about weaving Rangiātea (heavens) together with the whenua (land) through karakia. The central figure is a Tohunga standing in karakia holding a Kō, which in this case is a taiaha fashion into a cultivating implement. It is lashed together with a foot piece which represents Rongo.
The Kō in this mural is titled Hohou A Rongo (to lash together with peace). The trees symbolise Whakapapa. The roots of the trees are Manaia forms which symbolises the Mana of our Tupuna (ancestors) that we carry and represent. The branches of the trees have kowhaiwhai patterns referencing future generations.
The pūngāwerewere (spider web) is catching the kōrero between the physical and the spiritual lie at the foundation of the mural. The mural has three layers which have been hand cut.
14. Kotahi / Uno
Paola Delfin, from Mexico City, Mexico
Located at 88 Robert Street
Paola says “A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure to share some time in this beautiful country and be part of this experience, taking place in Whangārei, home of Ngatiwai "descendants of the sea" and descendants of Manaia.
More than 1000 years ago they navigated the oceans coming from Hawaiki nui and also from the Americas as many Māori tribes believe, arriving in Aotearoa in Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi, their Iwi's waka. They shared with us their beliefs, reminding us the importance of honouring the past, our ancestors, those who built the events that made us who we are, and gave us a heritage.
To also remember that no matter where we come from, in the end, we are all connected, we have always been”.
15. Untitled
By Swiftmantis and Ephraim Russell from Palmerston North / NZ
Located behind Event Cinemas, John Street
Swiftmantis explains “I first met Ephraim Russell in Palmerston North, both tattooing at a local street shop. I didn’t know how to spray paint back then but Ephraim was already an established Graffiti and Street Artist so I ended up learning a lot from him over the years, just yarning in our breaks.
Years later we're both doing large scale murals independently but never got a chance to actually collaborate on one until now. From the start, we really wanted a photographic depth-of-field look in our rendering, so the focal points are sharply detailed while the out of focus area are more blurry and soft.
We started the concept by photographing everything ourselves. We photographed the Kitten and Weta from an upward angle so when we scale them up to the size of a 9metre wall it really looks like they're looking down on you from street-view. These two creatures are unusual companions, and reflect the unusual relationships we encounter in life.
The unexpected friends we meet along the way that challenge and change our paths, and together help weave the threads of our future. This idea is often embellished in many cinematic motifs, and since the mural is painted on the Whangārei Cinema we thought it would be fitting to encapsulate the whole freeze frame moment with a film-reel border.”
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