Street Beat

You're the most beautiful,

Exciting thing
I've ever seen in my Life

And I don't know anything about you.

- American Graffiti (1973)

Numbers (Anton Parsons, 2007)

We have previously written about exploring Wellington and discovering hidden street art (Link: Keep Welly Weird). We have also spent quite a bit of time exploring Palmy (Link: Palmy Rocks! and Up Hill, Both Ways!). Street art here isn't quite as abundant as that in Wellington. One advantage ... most of it is centrally located in and around the Square. These photos were almost all taken on the same day as I prowled Palmerston North's streets and alleyways.

This appears to be an exhaust outlet adjacent to the Library. I'm not sure if it's functional or just visually appealing. Either way, it's a cool piece of street art.

  

All Creatures Great (Paul Dibble, 1996) stands outside the Library entrance, and this mural tops a doorway across the alleyway.

This stairway leads from what I think is a fire exit at the Library. While not really street art, I love the glass enclosure. 

Traveling by caravan (camper van) is the Kiwi way, and most cities in NZ have one or more free or low-cost caravan parks. Painted onto a long wall at The Campbell St motor home park, this mural is one of Palmy's newest additions and allows campers to park along the river ... at least in spirit, anyway.

Cuba St and George St are lined by some of Palmy's oldest buildings and home to some of our funkiest shops, cafes, and businesses. This mural is on the side of Sublime Coffee Roasters.

This mural was down a blind alleyway on George St, across from the Library.

Flying insects book-end the (caterpillar?) painted on this long wall leading up Taonui St from Cuba St. Right next door is Hell Pizza.

Palmerston North has tons of hidden alleyways some with enough room for small businesses. This mural sits at one end of Regent Arcade, down which there are several drinking establishments including The Celtic Inn, Bubbles, and The Fish.

  

  

  

  

Berrymans Lane, connecting Broadway Ave and Main St, sees heavy foot traffic. The city commissioned local artists to liven it up a little and these murals all went up on a Saturday in June of this year.

Not unlike Wellington, Palmy also has painted garage doors tucked down alleyways. These two edgy murals were around a dodgy corner. I had to step gingerly around all the dog bombs!

Searching for somewhere to capture a view of George St, I found some windows on the second sotry of the Library that did the trick.

The Regent Theatre building was completed in 1930 and is home to the City's centre for performing arts.

Ladies Rest was built in 1937 and is still in use today. Kari and LH assure me that it is quite posh inside.

  

Returning Column (Greg Johns, 2008) sits in the centre island of a roundabout near the library.

United Divided (Phil Price, 2010) is a kinetic sculpture ... the sections of the "lozenge" on top move with the wind.

Who's Afraid (Paul Dibble, 2011) sits outside the Regent Theatre and features a dancer facing down a tuatara. With the overcast sky and deep shadows from the covered walkway, it was quite tricky to get this photo just right.

  

Nga Huruhuru Rangatira "the feathers of the chief" (Bob Jahnke, 2016) was created by a professor of Maori sculture and visual arts at Massey University. The sculpture sits on a prominent corner on the Square.
The feathers and cutouts are meant to evoke the extinct Huia bird. Prized for its feathers and beak, the Huia bird succumbed to the dual pressures of hunting and habitat loss.

During our year in New Zealand, we have gone out and explored far afield. When I took on both this blog project and set a goal to improve my photography, I was forced to open my eyes to what was right in front of me all along.

It's a lock ...