STREET ART ARCHIVISTS
WORDS Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Supplied
Top Right: Kevin Ledo. Bottom Right: Jacob Yikes. Image of Reuben by Julienne Chen.
Watch This Space founder Lindsay Chan was amazed by Ōtautahi’s urban art; the murals, graffiti, and the street works, but was equally amazed there was no definitive map or database to learn more about the art and artists. Lindsay, a geospatial engineer, took to the streets on her bicycle locating and plotting works.
The online map that formed the basis of Watch This Space’s genesis was born.
Now, with guided tours, online blog content, and supporting artists and projects, they explore, document, and celebrate Ōtautahi’s amazing urban art. What started out as one person’s passion is now a recently formed charitable trust.
Reuben Woods is the creative director behind the said trust, and with a PhD in street art, he’s more than qualified for the role. After spending time travelling, he realised urban art was a way to explore and make spaces more interesting.
“I was convinced home, with the massive task of rebuilding ahead, would be a fitting location for the emergence of graffiti and street art as more prominent creative expressions.”
Reuben returned home in 2012 and enrolled at University of Canterbury to complete a twelve-month master’s project, which quickly turned into four years.
“People say the PhD process is stressful, and it is tough, but when you are truly passionate about your research, it is really easy to avoid those pitfalls.
“I have been on a wild ride, from an undergraduate Art History student hunting out opportunities to write about graffiti and street art with very few resources available, to completing my PhD on that very topic. I’ve guest lectured on the topic at the same university! It truly reflects the evolution of urban art over the last few decades.”
Watch This Space has almost 900 entries collated in an online map. Many of these have now disappeared, thanks to the ephemeral nature of urban art.
When prompted for his more memorable archives, Reuben mentions he has always advocated for the great diversity of urban art, so his favourites ‘run the gamut of big and small, beautiful and anarchic.’
Cracked Ink
“The giant Band-Aids on post-quake buildings by Dr Suits and Jen Heads will always be dear to me, while Anthony Lister’s giant seagulls were a chaotic joy. Tilt’s triumvirate of giant lips formed of graffiti bubble letters from Spectrum in 2014 is still a blockbuster, while Jacob Yikes’ ever-expanding, surreal world-building is synonymous with post-quake Christchurch.”
The map is open-sourced, which means anyone can contribute and log new works or those we might have missed. You can upload photos directly through the website or e-mail.
“We want to keep championing urban art as a dynamic, transformative, and meaningful part of Ōtautahi’s identity. I believe it has played such an important role in the city’s recovery over the last decade, in all of its guises, and as Christchurch changes, the performance of urban art evolves as well. Graffiti, street art, and murals tell an array of stories in our streets and reflect our experiences, and as such are so vital in making a city feel alive.”
“Urban art is a reminder to switch off the auto-pilot and truly take in your surroundings. It is like a conversation between countless contributors that you can join, and it can change the way you think about our cityscape.”