Award-winning Mural Unveiled In Kaitaia By Artist Sylvie Currin

Artist Sylvie Currin has unveiled her award-winning mural
titled ‘Kauri, Spirit of Resilience’
in Kaitaia. 

Sylvie was one of ten
winners from across the country who took out the top prize
in Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Resene Nature Mural
Competition 2023. 

The mural is located in a
busy area of Kaitaia on the back entrance of a charity shop
on Ward Lane.

Sylvie was inspired by the Māori
proverb ‘I orea te tuatara ka puta ki waho – A problem is
solved by continuing to find solutions’.

“This
profoundly resonates with me – it encapsulates a spirit of
resilience, a push to persevere in the face of adversity,
something we all can relate to in challenging times. Drawn
towards its encouraging message, I felt inspired to
incorporate this idea into a design meant to reinvigorate
one of Kaitaia’s neglected and weather-beaten walls I
frequently pass by.”

The mural is painted in the
style of Banksy and illustrates children working together to
plant a kauri tree with the words ‘from small beginnings
come great things’.

“With this symbolic image, I wish
to convey that even small acts, have profound value and can
bring positive change. I’ve chosen to draw inspiration from
Banksy to resonate with a younger audience, instilling in
them this powerful yet simple narrative of action and
impact,” says Sylvie.

“I have really enjoyed working
on my mural of children planting a Kauri tree. It was a
great privilege to have an opportunity to create an artwork
of encouragement and hope in our community. I wish that this
simple message, delivered in street art style, would inspire
passers-by to nurture life and the environment.”

About the Resene
Nature Mural Competition
The Resene Nature Mural
Competition, which is part of the Keep New Zealand
Beautiful’s Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme, ran from
April to June 2023. Community members were called on to
submit environmentally-themed mural designs to paint on a
wall in their local community. Artists from around the
country sent in their designs, with the top ten murals
selected in June based on their environmental message,
enhancement of the community, originality and creativity.
Winners had up to 12 months to bring their mural to
life.
 
Winning artists received a $1,000
commission once the mural is completed, along with a $750
Resene paint voucher and other materials.

Keep New
Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says: “Our Resene
Nature Mural Competition provides a great opportunity for
artists to beautify their local communities. The
beautification of public spaces greatly benefits communities
by increasing civic pride, deterring vandalism and reducing
anti-social behaviour such as littering and
graffiti.”

“We were impressed with the dozens of
high-calibre entries we received, so much so that narrowing
the selection to just ten winners was a tough task! We’re
thrilled to see the end result of Sylvie’s mural coming to
life.”

Since its inception in 2017, there have been
57 Nature Murals commissioned as a result of the
programme.

The ten winning artists for 2023 and the
regions their murals will be produced are listed below, with
their designs visible on the Keep
New Zealand Beautiful website.

• Brigita Botma
  (Coromandel Town): Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute
• Sylvie
  Currin (Kaitaia): Kauri, Spirit of Resilience
• Terri
  Donaldson (Maungaturoto): The Creatures of
  Kaipara
• Mel Eaton (Christchurch): Floating with
  Whio
• Natasha Fitzpatrick (Auckland): Protect
  Us
• Stan Mans (Hastings): Breath of
  Life
• Melisa Nocelli (Arrowtown): Where Wildlife
  Matters
• Kiran Parbhu (Wellington): The Birds and the
  Bees (and all the pollinators in between!)
• Romina
  Romero (Auckland): Pukapuka o Tamaki (Lungs of
  Auckland)
• Robert Scanlan (Christchurch): The
  Southern Migration of the Godwit

Sylvie’s mural
is located on the back entrance of a charity shop on Ward
Lane in Kaitaia. The Resene colours used in the mural
include:

• White
• Black
• Tree
  Frog
• Japanese Laurel
• Crusoe
• Green
  House
• Wham
• Citron
• Citrus
• Sublime
• Flourish
• Chill
  Out
• Gravel

View a map of all Keep New
Zealand Beautiful’s Resene Nature Murals here.

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