8 minute read
Carterton
Theo Gerritsen
A launch event for a new Carterton mural was held last week — with the artwork on display defaced by an obscenity.
Local artist Martin Doyle spent days painting his mural on the side of Wild Oats Café on High Street North - and hoped to encapsulate the spirit of the Carterton community within the piece.
However, the night before the formal launch, the artwork was defaced by a tagger.
The event went ahead despite the unwelcome addition – and the tag was painted over soon afterwards, saving the mural.
Doyle said a friend deciphered the tag’s cryptic font, and realised it depicted an offensive turn of phrase.
“When we examined it the next morning, a friend from Los Angeles said he recognised the tag as a stylised version of the word c***,” he said.
“When I found out what it was actually saying, I thought it was so distasteful and I realised there was only one thing I could do – and that was remove it.”
Doyle said the tagging left him deeply saddened.
“I wanted the mural to portray values of openness and a sense of offering,” he said.
“When the graffiti went up it was like, ‘oh my god’. It was like a dagger through my heart.”
Doyle, the artist behind the mouse artwork on the Carterton clock tower, had initially had his signature on the mural — but decided to remove it to deter further tagging.
“That hurt for me as an artist — that really hurt.
“Why ruin something someone’s come up with? Why destroy someone else’s creativity?
“It made me sick, to be honest.”
A spokesperson for Wild Oats Cafe was sad someone had defaced Doyle’s art.
“I was upset for Martin. It was his piece that he was just about to showcase to everyone,” she said.
“The saddest part to me was that Martin felt he had to take his signature off the piece, and remove his ownership.”
Community development organisation Ka Pai Carterton had orchestrated the mural and connected Doyle with the owner of Wild Oats.
Ka Pai Carterton community facilitator Cimone Grayson said she was shocked to find out what had happened to the artwork so soon after its completion.
“It was gutting. We felt there was just a lack of respect around this piece of art,” Grayson said.
“The community had embraced it. They had been part of the process — watching Martin paint the mural, and having
Doyle’s mural, installed at Wild Oats Café on High St North. Inset: Artist Martin Doyle was deeply saddened to see his mural defaced by a tagger. PHOTO/THEO GERRITSEN him paint their names as an undercoat.” Grayson said Ka Pai Carterton would like to work with the taggers, rather than try and shut them down. “I’d love an opportunity to speak to the taggers and ask if they would like their own tagging wall they could go to town on, so they can show us their best. “It would just be nice to harness it and put it somewhere, rather than Feeling a little isolated? Struggling with your hearing? Feeling a little isolated? Struggling with your hearing? Ask us about our range of discrete hearing aids Feeling a little isolated? Struggling with your hearing? Ask us about our range of discrete hearing aids Feeling a little isolated? Struggling with your hearing? Ask us about our range of discrete hearing aids Feeling a little isolated? Struggling with your hearing? Ask us about our range of discrete hearing aids Let us clean Want to spend quality time with your family? on someone else’s piece of art.” Mushrooms Grow your own Ask us about our range of discrete hearing aids your home or business for you! Eco-friendly regular or one-off cleaning Only
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