WATCH THIS SPACE: BERST
God of the Forest
Artist: Berst
Date: November 2013
Location: Battersea Street, Sydenham
Tucked away in Sydenham, teasingly just out of sight from the traffic passing along the busy Colombo Street, Berst’s epic God of The Forest sprawls across a massive car park wall. Painted in late 2013 for the From the Ground Up festival organised by Jacob Yikes, Holly Ross, and Leeya Warrander, Auckland artist Berst’s intricate design provides a visual feast of flora, faces, beasts, and icons. The earthy tones of ochre, brown, blue, and purple are tied together with graphic black line work and white highlights, creating an impressive impact where elements interlock and weave in and out of each other as if alive. Drawing together references to graffiti culture (artist’s names are embedded within the composition) with symbols from the earth, sea, and sky inspired by the artist’s reading of A.W. Reed’s Myths and Legends of Maoriland (1971), God of the Forest is packed with potential narrative threads. The maze-like composition invites inspection, our eyes able to dart in different directions, swallowed by the combination of scale and detail.
Explore more of Ōtautahi’s urban art on a Watch This Space guided street art tour! Email tours@watchthisspace.org.nz for booking information.