How Squishee the allycat found fame in a city that values street art

Who doesn’t love a good cat story and who doesn’t admire a city where good street art is encouraged and promoted?

Papaioea Palmerston North can boast some great street art thanks to local muralists documenting its stories on city walls.

One of those artists is SwiftMantis whose huge portrait of Squishee his cat, graces a wall high above a carpark. It's another good reason to pay a visit to Palmerston North. When asked to take part in the Street Prints – Papaioea Street Art Festival, he decided to tell his cat’s story.

SwiftMantis at work

Photo: Tracie Angel

A little cat with the ego of a Lion

SwiftMantis found the small feral cat living under the studio he was working in at the time. He says it took months to earn her trust but she just kept hanging round, eventually moving from the junkyard to the doorway, then inside the building until finally being taken home to live with them. “She’s like all of us. We all came from somewhere else to find our forever home.” Having Squishee join the whanau sparked a real interest for SwiftMantis in other stray cats and their stories.

Squishee, a little cat with the ego of a Lion

Portrait of Squishee

They include Hangar the airport cat in Whanganui, who lives in the hangar, greets airport visitors and often tries to hitch rides on departing flights, and Kevin the Parklands School cat who has his own cat-door entrance to the library.

Hangar immortalised on St Hill Street

Photo: Bevan Conley

Hangar, Whanganui Airport’s resident cat hitches a ride.

So, who is SwiftMantis?

He’s an artist born and bred in Palmerston North who was introduced to muralling six years ago. He’s also a tattoo artist with his own studio.

After years studying art, illustration, animation and design SwiftMantis says he was unsure how to proceed. “My illustration studies in particular, taught me how to apply design principles to image making irrespective of the medium. I learned the principles but didn’t know how to apply them,” he says.

Then in 2016 a friend introduced him to muralling where he found the perfect outlet for his preferred art form realism – in particular animal realism.

“It was a long learning process,” he laughs, “spray cans are overwhelmingly uncontrollable.”

“I love all animals, I’m forever fascinated and inspired by the creatures of this world and I hope to share that sense of wonder through my work. Painting large scale realism is a really unique method for bringing these creatures to life in excruciating detail.”

NOTE: Next time you’re visiting Palmerston North call in to the City i-SITE to pick up a free map and take yourself on a tour of the artwork of SwiftMantis and many other accomplished street artists.

“The community is my client”

“Our cities are full of grey walls. I like to bring colour to them and help beautify our communities by bringing in local elements. The community is my client.”

SwiftMantis says he’s keen to keep pushing the bar in his field and is passionate about the work he does.

SwiftMantis mural graces the walls of Carncot Independent School

Photos supplied by SwiftMantis