Can Do – Reflections on an evolving art space…

Saturday, December 2nd, saw the official opening of the new ‘Youth Space’ in the central city’s East Frame. The space, a project facilitated by GapFiller, Ōtakāro and Fletcher Living, combines a basketball court and a rock climbing area, with perhaps the most forward-thinking element: an evolving art space that allows artists to freely paint in public without fear of repercussion. This is a first for the city, a step further than those spaces where painting is tolerated or ignored, but not technically allowed (those peripheral spaces that have long served graffiti and street art’s development, such as alleyways and train tracks). This is an innovative move that has been pushed for a long time by those from the cultures, but has too often fallen on deaf authoritarian ears.

The space contains eight giant spray cans which have become literal objects for art. The eight cans are physically split in two groups, with three cans intended for more established artists to produce long term works that will be refreshed sporadically, and five serving as ‘free-for-all’ surfaces, as evolving canvasses. They will operate on a first come, first served basis, and as artist Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson has noted, people should be prepared to document their work, as any contribution may last a week, a day, or a minute, as is the nature of such a space, and of course, is an undeniable aspect of guerrilla street practices anyway. On the opening day Wilson, Ikarus and Jacob Yikes, from Christchurch’s famed DTR crew, painted the three ‘permanent’ cans, while local artists Beksi, Dove, Bore, Smeagol and Drows were given the opportunity to give the five other cans their first layer.

The ‘permanent’ cans with works in progress by Jacob Yikes, Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson and Ikarus

Notably, the surfaces on which people are invited to paint are part of the lineage of the city’s ongoing love affair with urban art: the giant spray cans were fabricated as part of Oi YOU’s Spectrum shows, and if they are aware of history, the city’s youth can now paint on surfaces to which artists such as Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, Sofles, Berst, Seth Globepainter, Tilt, Flox and many more are historically connected, even if no longer visible. That these objects are in proud place in the inner-city streets is testament to a shifting opinion around the art with which they have an unavoidable kinship. It is also important to note that the cans are not buildings, they are specifically in place as surfaces for art and that is both unique and partly why the concept works; their decoration is not an affront to private ownership, not even by association.

Of course, such a concept is not without risk, and it should be admitted, it will not prove a cure-all for vandalism (which is not the explicit goal of the space, but will surely be read as such by some). Vandalism, which is not a by-word for graffiti, and exists without a pen or a can of paint, is driven by a desire to fracture physically and symbolically, and a permissioned space will not attract those who are interested purely in transgression. But it will importantly provide an opportunity for artists to develop, to experiment, and to grow and that is no small thing. Indeed, the potential this space provides should be celebrated as a significant shift in thinking around these artistic cultures. Also, it should not be expected to rival the sheer scale and cohesive appearance of the grand murals dotted around the city (and notably nearby). The space will instead produce an aesthetic more akin to urban art’s natural state, a visual quality that many find infinitely fascinating, created in layers over time and representative of thousands of voices, but admittedly, others find harder to comprehend. This is always at the heart of such an undertaking, the various positions and desires of contributing factions will be at odds, a microcosm of the city at large.

The future of this innovative approach will of course be in some way determined by outcomes authorities are interested in, regardless of whether such desires are realistic. But with planned workshops and other events, it will become an important and fascinating location for the city’s ever-evolving graffiti and street art cultures, an important step in the city’s creative evolution, potentially unearthing new stars and providing a continuing reminder of the potential found in opportunity.

Carnaby Lane Party Recap

New Brighton’s Carnaby Lane got an impressive facelift over Canterbury Anniversary weekend, with several notable artists producing an array of works along the bright green wall that frames the small laneway. With the sun beating down and DJs Ruse and Nacoa providing the musical backdrop, Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson, Joel Hart and Dr Suits (assisted by his Fiksate crew-mate Porta) captured the imaginations of the passing crowds. Throughout the day the artists, all working in close vicinity, provided intimate insights into how their work comes together. The relaxed but vibrant atmosphere, created by the mixture of music, food, drinks and art, as well as the ideal summer conditions, made for a perfect storm. We were there throughout the day and captured the artists in action…

The Carnaby Lane Party on Saturday, 19th November.

Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson: Wongi’s work, the largest of the three, depicts a monotone female figure, with her hand thrust forward, two fingers raised in a peace sign, the hand bursting to life in colour and sharp detail. A segmented disc of translucent yellow, orange, pink and purple separates the figure and the hand, framing the image and popping against the dark grey background. Wongi noted that he had chosen the image to play with a “beachy vibe” in honour of the location, but without the usual cliché, instead of seagulls or surfers, his character has a summery, music festival feel. The image is another example of Wongi’s ever impressive photo realistic technique, highlighting his aerosol mastery, an expertise that was made apparent to the crowds that stopped and watched the Christchurch legend in action, gaining insight into the sketching and refining process with which he builds form and brings his images to life.

Wongi’s wall buffed and ready to go
Wongi refers to the original image on his phone, an example of how technology plays a part in his working process
Wongi starts to bring the detailed hand to life with colour, while his toolbox lies in the foreground
Nearing completion, Wongi makes some final touches
Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson’s finished piece

Joel Hart: Joel’s signature work, titled ‘The Shadows’ was an impressive sight coming to fruition, highlighting his swag bag of techniques and sure-handed processes, from his large stencil plates to the use of screens to print directly on the wall. The female portrait, her hand extended outward and three butterflies fluttering above, is indicative of Hart’s current body of work, where he is experimenting with “more-multi-layered” details of patterns and embellishments that reward inspection. Assisted by young up and comer Jacob Root (Distranged Design), Joel’s greyscale subject is brought to life by the violet backdrop and flashes of pink and green that all deftly play off the garish bright green wall behind his work.

Joel’s stencil plates lay in wait
The plan, and the necessary tools
Joel Hart works with one of his large stencil plates
Joel applies a screen to the wall
Joel Hart’s finished work, ‘The Shadows’

Dr Suits: Dr Suits’ geometric abstraction provides a unique example in the context of Christchurch’s mural scene, suggesting an exciting direction for the artist. The work draws on Dr Suits’ ongoing exploration of printmaking and mixed media techniques, here transferred to a wall and the colours heightened and flattened out to create a crisp, vibrant composition that pops off the wall and draws the eye in multiple directions. Detail is added in a section where the black paint is pulled, rubbed and scratched to mimic printing techniques. For Dr Suits the piece is indicative of his preoccupation with creating works that can be “translated by the individual but have no certainty”, instead evoking more visceral or emotive responses fed by associations of memory.

Dr Suits’ wall, marked out with blocks of colour being added

 

Dr Suits at work with the roller
Porta takes on the technician role and tapes up an area of Dr Suits’ work
And the tape comes off…
Dr Suits’ finished work

Carnaby Lane Party, New Brighton

Local businesses have been busy transforming New Brighton’s Carnaby Lane, and on Saturday, November 18, the lane will host a party to celebrate! While the event will feature DJs, live music, food and drink, and Lego (don’t worry, this will make sense on Saturday!), perhaps most notably, several of Christchurch’s leading street artists will be painting live throughout the day. Wongi Wilson, Joel Hart and Nathan Ingram (aka Dr Suits) have each been allocated a wall space to adorn in their signature styles, adding some colourful vibrancy to lane. John Collins, who alongside his wife Alesha owns BearLion Foods in Carnaby Lane, explains that when he developed the idea to revamp the popular but downtrodden laneway, street art was always a key component to his vision. While the laneway has seen the addition of landscaping, lighting and other amenities, the murals will provide a unique element, especially since the participating artists are some of the most prominent in Christchurch’s urban art and mural scene. Collins grew up in Melbourne and witnessed the rise of that city’s impressive street art reputation, even painting in the famed city’s streets himself. This interest extended to his global travels, and sparked the recognition that what was painted on walls often had a transformative effect on the surrounding spaces. Collins notes that while his painting days have finished, he is excited to see what effect Wongi, Joel and Nathan’s work will have on the laneway:

“When we took over the lease for a shop in Carnaby Lane, my wife and I had always agreed how ugly that bright green wall (facing our door) was and how great it would be to get some street art to create some vibrancy for the lane. Three years later the opportunity has now been handed to us and we are super stoked to have three pieces being painted by three awesome local artists. I can’t wait to watch the boys complete their pieces and the impact it will have on the lane.”

For New Brighton local Nathan Ingram, who is a founder of Fiksate Studio and Gallery in New Brighton Mall, the laneway event was an immediately attractive opportunity. Ingram jumped at the chance to paint one of the wall panels, both to expand his own practice outside of his paste-up and studio work, and as a way to contribute to his community. He has been excited by the range of events hosted in New Brighton this summer and sees the Carnaby Lane Party as another occasion for the seaside village to celebrate the local community’s positive and creative spirit.

The Carnaby Lane Party kicks off on Saturday 18th November at 11am, and runs through to 6pm, so get along and watch some of the city’s best execute their craft live. More details can be found at the event’s Facebook page: Carnaby Lane Party, New Brighton.

Face Value at Fiksate Gallery

Fiksate Gallery is busy gearing up for Face Value, the New Brighton studio and gallery’s latest exhibition. Face Value features an array of artists from diverse backgrounds and locations, each tied together by an interest in portraiture, or perhaps more specifically, the depiction of faces. The selection of work illustrates the attraction of portraiture for so many artists, including those with street backgrounds, and how such explorations are incredibly varied both in conception and their reception.

We caught up with Fiksate artist and Face Value curator Jenna Lynn Brown (a.k.a. Jen) to find out what inspired this exploration of portraiture and how she pulled it all together….

Hey Jen! How are you?

Hey! I’m great thanks! My partner Nathan and I have been very busy getting Face Value ready and of course juggling this with our new four month old baby Frank!

Yes congratulations on Frank’s arrival! To be fair you two are not known for being idle, you have always had an impressive work ethic, but I’m guessing at the moment down time is really at a premium!

So, how did the concept for Face Value come about…

The concept of Face Value came about through my own exploration into portraiture. There are so many ways to interpret the most familiar and important aspect of our humanity and individuality, our face, and this fascinates me. I work with a really abstract version of a face which communicates a self-portrait styled look into my own psyche, and by following several other artists who use portraiture in totally different ways, I really wanted to put together an exhibition that shows this amazing variety of representations. After throwing a few lines out about this concept a couple of months ago, I’ve had a great response and can happily say Face Value has a great line up with a huge variety of styles.

Your ‘Jen Heads’ have become an iconic element of your work, taking on both your own inner psyche as you say, but also a life of their own, showing the rich potential found in faces as subjects. You have a range of artists involved, how did you select specific contributors and was this variety always an intended element of Face Value?

There are a few ways I selected artists for this show. There are artists that Fiksate knows and have shown before and whose works already show portraiture themes like Jacob Yikes, who is, in my opinion the most prolific and exciting artist in Christchurch. Joel Hart is also an exciting artist whose multi layered, pop-art inspired works are gracing large walls, magazines, news articles and TV shows. I also used Instagram to find artists, I feel like Instagram has revolutionized the way we see art in this generation. Through Instagram I’ve been able to research, contact and communicate with artists of different backgrounds and mediums all over the world. And then there’s good ol’ word of mouth and people getting in touch about taking part in the show. However it wasn’t an open call for artists this time around. I guess the key is that each artist I selected shares an affinity to portraiture in their own unique and individual style and each will bring a different flavour to the show.

Jacob Yikes, 2017

You definitely have a diverse line up, and the local and international flavour shows both the growing scene here, but also the way social media, and technology generally, has made it easier for communities to engage and connect. Do any of the works or artists stand out to you for any reason, maybe exposing some key themes or unexpected revelations within Face Value?

There are certain artists who I feel embody to theme of Face Value one hundred per cent. Voxx Romana is an international street artist who has just had a solo show in Paris and his work can be seen around the streets of Europe and the USA. His work is always focused around a strong and powerful image of a person, and very frequently a well-known figure or celebrity. Voxx creates portraiture that speaks of strength, power, mystery and his works make you think, which I believe is a key theme in Face Value.

Voxx Romana, 2017

Importantly, alongside those with a background in street art, there are some stand out illustrators in this show, one from Australia who goes by Lusidart, and four NZ based artists; A.K. Illustration, Hibagon, Jessie Rawcliffe and L.A Buckett. Their works are powerful, intricate and have a slightly mysterious quality about them which draws you in, like there is something deeper behind the subject’s eyes.

Luisdart, 2017

We also have a surprise for our followers and any street art connoisseurs! A very special artist is up our sleeve from the USA, who, if his work arrives on time, will be shown for the opening, otherwise, keep an eye on our Fiksate social media for news on the impending arrival of some seriously great work!

Face Value opens at Fiksate Gallery, 115 New Brighton Mall, on Friday 17th November at 5:30pm. Face Value will run until December 17th 2017, but opening hours and viewing times will vary, so check the Fiksate website for more details.

Follow Fiksate on Facebook and on Instagram.

A Conversation with Flox

On September 15-16, The Exchange hosted a one-night, one-day pop-up shop, a joint venture between jeweller Cathy Pope, artist and illustrator Ema Frost, and artist (and all-round renaissance woman) Flox. The Auckland-based triumvirate transformed the Waltham space into a unique retail experience, packed with jewellery, clothing, books, prints and original paintings, representing the changing dynamics of our methods of consumption; offering an alternative to both online shopping and the dreary mundanity of monolithic mall culture.

We took the opportunity to speak with Flox about the pop-up shop concept, her experiences travelling and painting at various events and festivals, her stencil process, and her reflections on post-quake Christchurch…

Hi Flox! Welcome back to Christchurch!

Always good to be here!

Tell us about the pop-up event here at the Exchange, and how that came to be…

So, myself, Cathy Pope (a jewellery designer) and Ema Frost, who is another painter/designer, last year we got together to a start a project called the Painted Peacock Project, which took us up to India, where we worked with some kids and painted a mural. Aside from that we’re really great friends. After we came back we just really enjoyed working together, and there’s a lot of really great connections with what we do, so we thought well, let’s try this pop-up idea that we’d been talking about. We’ve since had two pop-ups, we did our first one in Napier and the second one in Tauranga. Both of which were really successful. Luckily for me, the Tauranga one coincided with an event, and it’s quite good when I can tag a pop-up onto a festival or something that I’m in town for anyway, you get an even more fantastic response because you’ve just done this great big thing for their community, and it’s really cool, just that whole give and take thing.

Yeah, absolutely

So it’s fantastic to be here in Christchurch. This is the first time in my entire career actually that I’ve been able to do something at this scale, for Cantabrians. I know I’ve got a lot of fans down here, and a lot of my online purchases are from Christchurch. So, I said to the girls, why don’t we do one in Christchurch? Why don’t we go the extra mile, pack the van up, like pack that shit in, like a Tetris game and just drive it down. So, Ema and I did the road trip down and Cathy and her husband Martin are going to drive the van back and we get to fly home, which is cool…

Sharing it out!

So we’re sharing it, it’s a beautiful kind of sharing philosophy that we have, and at the end of the day, you know, we’re all trying to make a buck and to live off what we’re all passionate about. The pop-up format is a good way to expand audiences and allow for different communities to come and look and touch and feel and have that kind of retail experience. You know online is online. Everyone shops online these days but you can’t beat being able to actually see the piece in the frame, touch it, feel it, lift it up, you know. That’s the thing.

Particularly when they are unique items…

Totally. Even in Auckland, in my showroom, people come in and say, ‘Oh it’s so good to see the stuff!’ And a lot of the pieces, they do get up there in terms of price and I wouldn’t expect people to not want to have a look in the flesh first. So, yeah, I’m super excited about tonight and tomorrow and it looks like we’ve had a really good response online so we’re hoping for a good turn-out.

Pop-Up Shop at The Exchange, September 2017, photo courtesy of Flox

I imagine it will be, Christchurch seems to have developed a better reputation for coming out. There feels like a bit of a sea change, but it’s understandable when for so long there wasn’t much to do…

Absolutely, as you said before, I have been down here a multitude of times in the last ten years and every time, obviously a lot has changed down here, but I go back with this renewed sense of energy, cos so much has changed and I feel like it’s quite motivating. I mean, you guys have been through shit, it’s been hard, but I think now you’re on the other side of it, there’s a lot of positive change, it’s cool to see.

Touch wood!

Touch wood!

Opening night of Pop-Up Shop at the Exchange, photo courtesy of The Exchange

Just going back a little bit, when you talked about the experience in India, and then in Napier, which was the Sea Walls event right? (Sea Walls New Zealand is co-ordinated by artist Cinzah Merkins, and is a tie-in to the international Pangea Seed Foundation events which combine muralism with ocean conservation themes)

Yeah, it was Sea Walls, correct, correct.

Such events are becoming more and more common, where there is a social tie-in to the ever popular street art or mural festival. They obviously present muralism as a vehicle for social commentary and serve as a realisation of the power of these forms. Through your participation what reflections do you have on such events?

Yeah, you know it shows thought and discussion and it really brings a community together, you know, like public art does that anyway, but on top of that we’ve got this incredible theme running through, such as Sea Walls, which is basically marine conservation. We were given a range of topics to choose from. Firstly, it brings communities together because it brings up topics that need be discussed and talked about. But also, from an artist’s point of view, you’re really connecting and you’re really forced to think outside the square and maybe try something new. So you’re growing yourself. You know, with those festivals, personally, every time I paint a mural I want it to be the best I’ve ever painted. So it’s a growing exercise, from a technical and process-driven point of view. But also, the level of communication that you get and feedback from communities is unprecedented. It’s phenomenal.

As opposed to festivals that might undertake discussions about what graffiti and street art are becoming now, these events with social or ecological themes, they move in a different direction, away from the insular reflection and show the inherent ability of these types of expressions to be part of our wider discussions. You know, urban art is often considered rebellious, something people try and solve, but this shows the potential for these cultures to be part of a whole wide range of our communal experiences, which ultimately must be really fulfilling, because I assume ten years ago this wasn’t something you thought would be happening, right?

It’s moving so quickly, like these whole subgenres that are happening and the whole muralism thing, twenty years ago, it was just graffiti, and that had its own origins. But I think fundamentally, when you’re comparing maybe the graffiti world and then this whole street art thing and then the muralism and the festivals, the difference is that I always liken us to the ‘hippy’ artists, the tree huggers, you know, because our intent is to engage, to say ‘Hey come and have a look, I’ve got something to say, and I want you to be able to read it and to have a connection with it.’ I want you to be a part of this genre or this thing that is going on, whereas graffiti was really closed. I wouldn’t have a friggen clue what that said, what they were writing was for those people only, so I think the arms are moving wider and wider, and muralism again is just this whole other thing, it’s just like this huge growth, it’s just blowing up isn’t it?

And it’s raising some really interesting questions around who gets to define and appropriate terms, is post-graffiti/street art/urban art/muralism the same thing? Are they different limbs of the same body? But in many ways its feels like all these arms need to co-exist so that it isn’t co-opted by institutional powers to say this is what this is, and that is one of the dangers I guess, and it’s really important for the sense of ownership and that is why I think artist driven initiatives are so key…

Yeah, I think so, and I think one of the greatest things of any subculture that arises is that it is completely natural and it just comes out of nowhere, you know, and then suddenly you’ve just got this thing, and you’ve got to make a label for it, ‘Quick! What’s it called? What is it?’

Its our human nature to categorise, isn’t it? Recently I was talking to some students about Christchurch’s post-quake landscape and the changing types of creative expressions and interventions, and one student asked why certain cities have become popular sites for graffiti or street art? And my response was that there are so many reasons, and things happen organically, be it a socio-political influence, a response to the physical setting, or it can be just a group of people coming together at a specific time…

It can be a specific situation, like the earthquake, there are so many reasons. Then you’ve got gentrification, that’s another one…

It is really interesting in Christchurch in the inner city at the moment, you may remember a few years ago it was much more haphazard, but you’ve got more and more of these shiny glass facades popping up, and it’s changing the landscape. It is quite interesting to think about what the response might be, there’s room for some really cool guerrilla projects because that physical surrounding is such a big driver of how artists respond to areas.

Absolutely, it’s about using what’s there too, looking for those opportunities.

So when you visit other cities and produce work, how much of that experience of the physical, the social, all those other issues that the actual event that you’re there for, or if you’re just travelling yourself and you get the chance to produce something, how many of those issues come into consideration, I mean is it everything? Or is it often something more personally driven?

Thinking of Taiwan for example, I had the wonderful opportunity to stay there for three months on a residency, so I had the freedom to take my time and create a new body of work and respond to some of their social issues, you know, and also draw on some of the parallels that Taiwan has with New Zealand. So you have those situations where you have freedom and time, and then for me because I work with stencils most of the time, I’m having to pre-plan. So I’m not one of those artists that can rock up, (laughs) like when we did Sea Walls there were 23 artists, and I’d been working for three weeks leading up to it, and then we got there on the first day and I’d say 70 per cent of the artists didn’t know what they were painting! That’s a luxury right there! But I felt really confident because I knew exactly what I was going to do, and I actually like the whole planning thing. It has become almost like a graphic design exercise for me, that’s the challenge. Lately I’ll work really hard on these graphic layouts and Photoshop stuff, and some client driven jobs will require me to do that, but far out the last few walls I’ve done have been really well matched to the brief, so for me the process means that I can’t rock up to a city and, unless I’ve got time, and create a new body of work there and then, or get stuck into a wall. But certainly I like to respond thematically to a locale, and I think that travel has become an integral part of my rollercoaster process. With my practice I get asked to do stuff all the time that may not be as artistically rewarding, and because I’m doing that I have to make sure that I’m well fed, artistically, so I’m doing the festivals and I’m doing the fun stuff, so there’s sort of like two ‘me’s happening at once, and travel is the way in which I come back round to the beginning of that loop and re-influence myself and get that whole new inspiration from new cultures and new locations. For me that’s key, that’s how I work now.

And it just becomes a legacy that you can carry on and build on right?

Totally.

All those experiences feed each other…

And for your audience as well, it shows that you’re constantly on your toes, and you’re moving things along and you’re creating new stuff, and like I said, it’s for me too, otherwise, I’d be bored shitless!

Absolutely! That’s a good transition to talk about your diverse practices. We’ve talked about wall works and murals, but obviously your work ranges from clothing to light boxes to painted panels and beyond, do you think that’s driven by your own explorative nature, or is it tied to the processes you use, or again, is it all of them? Does your approach present constant opportunities to collaborate?

I get asked to do a lot, and now I do a lot of public speaking, and I work with students a lot and I say: ‘I think the best piece of advice I ever got and I’ll pass it on to you guys is that versatility is key.’ In this day and age, when you go to art school and you practice to become a painter, it doesn’t mean that you can’t go off and be a fashion designer or a photographer. I mean, you don’t have to be one thing. I think industries are crossing over in all sorts of ways, and I think that if you can show versatility then that’s essentially keeping doors open. So, yeah that’s always been part of my philosophy, just doing all sorts! (Laughs) But also, if we look at the business side of things, I’ll think: ‘Well, I haven’t really been doing many kitchen splash backs lately, but far out, the private commissions are going off at the moment!’ So it’s sort of like, if somethings not really flying, something else is…

In those commercial elements, say the splashbacks for example, do you find that inspires you to push your work in new directions that may reflect that experience, but without the utilitarian value? Do you find the commercial or practical stuff inspires your more freestyle practices? I’m just thinking that working on that glass surface of a splashback, it must present a range of problems, therefore a range of solutions, therefore a range of possibilities…

Yeah,

Do you find that they overlap quite a lot, do you find them seeping into one another?

Yeah, definitely, there are heaps of cross-overs like that, you’re learning on every job. You’re learning something that you can then take to something else. I mean thirteen years of doing this, you kind of take for granted the level of skill and knowledge you’ve got in your little kete, because it just seems normal. But it wasn’t until I started teaching workshops and I’m like actually, that thing there, you should be teaching them that because I’m just taking that for granted now, it’s just second nature for me. So, yes, there’s all sorts of stuff that crosses over, like you know kitchen splashbacks or outdoor exterior wall stuff for the council, yeah all sorts. I’m constantly learning.

So let me ask about your stencil techniques and processes. I was fascinated when you were here for the 2015 Spectrum show, I had the chance to see the show being put together, and I will always remember seeing all your plates laid out for your indoor wall work, it was an enduring image for me about the process of creating a larger stencilled work. What are your thoughts on the progression of stencilling, because I look back at the very political lineage, it was about a graphic nature that could be replicated and get out to as many places as possible…

It’s like signwriting almost isn’t it?

Absolutely, and what it did was allow preparation and readability, for images that could be replicated anywhere to suggest a particular message…

Repeated as well, repetitive…

And then from there slowly we’ve seen the rise of processes that sort of lead to the likes of Logan Hicks producing massive works of photorealism…

Highly skilled…

Almost mechanical in precision.

Like it’s gone back to the actual photo, like it is the photo.

What I’m getting to (in a long-winded manner!), is that one aspects I love about your work is the painterly quality, which shows the potential of stencilling as a medium, so it’s not just a way of producing a representation image. There is something beautiful in masking space and exploring negative space.

There is, and that’s the fun part about stencilling. I think my background, when I went through art school, I was really interested in printmaking and there are a lot of principles very similar to stencil creation: positive and negative space, what part you leave and what part you take away, that’s the bottom line of stencilling. But for me, my stencil aesthetic has always been evident. I remember the day that my partner at the time, we were working together in Cut Collective, and I remember when we did our first power box together. I was Flox, just, and I was just dabbling, mucking around with the stencil, and we’d finished it and printed it out flat and looked at it, and he was like, wow, I’ve never seen stencilling that looks like this, this is really unique, it’s really different. And up until then, all we’d really seen was you know, Banksy, and its that whole posturized kind of, very Photoshop looking stencil. And so this, over time, that’s the way in which I make marks, the scalpel is my pencil, so I’m really lucky. I feel like inherently, I have his thing in me that I feel so confident with a scalpel now that I’m really scared of a pencil. Like it’s flipped on me, like I get quite anxious when people say, ‘Can you draw something?’ and I’m like ‘No, I can’t draw anything actually, but I can cut!’ But, yeah, what I love about it is that there’s the whole stencil cutting creation, which is unique to me and because I’ll project up on the wall the image and I’ll draw my rough guidelines, but then really at the end of the day I’m ad-libbing with my scalpel, and that’s my special time, and then the painting part, I still get to be playful and although the stencil is rigid, it is what it is, but I can do all sorts of beautiful shading and splatter, and that whole painterly thing, I can be really creative with that stuff, the under-lying stuff, so there’s the combination of the rigidity of the stencil but also the intuitiveness of the painting process as well. I think that’s quite a nice blend.

And I think it’s often overlooked with the way people approach stencil techniques, they’re thinking blocks, a hard and fast positive/negative concept of form. But when you combine the rigidity of a plate with the amorphous nature of spray paint you get this nice combination…

Yes! You get that nice marriage. It’s funny because people will ask me, like a big bird of mine, how many stencils is that? And its only ever one, so I do all the shading and all the colours, and all that stuff freehand underneath, and then I put my stencil line layer, the top layer, whatever you want to call it, on top and that really confuses people, it seems way more complex than it actually is. But it’s not many layers, its one.

But it is layers of paint.

It is layers of paint. And that’s what I teach, I don’t hide anything, my kaupapa for my workshops is to teach exactly what I do, all my tips and tricks, and I just think, the more you can share the better, and who knows whose coming through? We didn’t really have any role models you know, it was kind of like walking through blindly for those first few years.

Which can be quite freeing right? Like you’re not living up to something, and yet at the same time it can be daunting…

It’s both isn’t it? You don’t really know where you’re going, however yes, it is really liberating.

I’ll stop before we get too far down the rabbit hole! Finally, coming back to Christchurch several times, what is your perception of how the city has changed, both in the obvious physical standpoint, but also compared to other cities? Is it a site of great potential or as some people might suggest, a site of lost opportunity? Which might seem cynical, but rebuilding on such a level is obviously a difficult proposition…

It is and everyone’s always got their perceptions, like one of my best friends, she comes down here a fair amount, to visit her sister in law, or some family member, and I always go on to her about how much I love Christchurch, and every time I come down things are moving and there’s this sense of motivation in the air, and new cafés and restaurants are opening, and she’s like, ‘Really?’ I don’t know if it’s the circles she hangs out in, but it’s just so depressing, but I guess I am part of the creative movement, and I’m surrounding myself with certain types of people, and that is what is motivating, and its up to the person isn’t it? To be a part of whichever part they want to be a part of. But for me, yeah, I’m not sure about missed opportunity, but from what I’ve seen I feel like people are really moving and changing and it feels like there’s a lot of really entrepreneurial types out there.

Flox’s wall for Spectrum, Welles Street, 2015

And I think there is an interesting type of entrepreneurship, in that there’s a social element, it’s not just the economic opportunist, it’s the social contribution…

People are a lot friendlier too, I mean compared to Auckland, you know, it’s a lot more open door, and maybe it’s easier to generate networks. But also like you say, for so long, there wasn’t much to do so people are really amped to be a part of something.

I think seeing your city deconstructed imbues in you a willingness to try things, to explore things, an that’s one of the interesting conflicts with the rebuild, you know, as this wild west landscape is disappearing a little bit, that control comes back and it will be interesting to see if that willingness of people to try things, to do things, endures…

I think so, it feels like you’ve got some good planning in place, I don’t know the ins and outs, but I’d like to think we in an era now where people are actually thinking about these things, it’s not the nineties, so I don’t know, touch wood right?

That’s right, as wishy-washy as its sounds, it’s a journey everyone’s on, and everyone’s experience is going to be slightly different as well.

That’s very true. Like we were just saying before, like imagine if we had a place like this (The Exchange) in Auckland? Obviously Auckland’s got its own problems, it is so widespread that it’s very difficult to create those cool little networks, those communities. In saying that, I’m right in Greylynn, so I do have that to a certain degree, but still. Not to mention, the price, the cost of rent, to have something like this you’d have to be a millionaire, times two!

It’s quite interesting to walk out of this space into the surrounding industrial area…

Yeah, I like that!

And yet, you’re still a stone’s throw from the central city…

It’s just there! It’s only five minutes! I like that and I hope these places survive through the build…

Definitely, it will be telling to see what legacies remain, and which are cast aside. And as I say, I hope the majority of people are willing to embrace ideas that have been borne of the challenges of the whole experience.

Like they’re genuine to that right?

Yeah, part of an attitude that has become fortified by this whole thing. Thanks for speaking to us! I’m looking forward to your pop-up, I’m sure you have a lot to do before the opening, so I will let you get back to it!

Thank you!

Find out where to see Flox’s mural in Christchurch on Watch This Space’s interactive map here or find out more about what Flox is up to on her Facebook page.

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