Over the last two years I have decorated 15 utility boxes around Auckland, New Zealand, with my artworks. Here’s how it happened; back in 2013, I had a few beers and painted a Grumpy Cat on a wall in my local dog park. It got painted out, and the locals were upset and petitioned the council. My friend snuck an article about this into a local newspaper, and then someone who works for Chorus (the company that owns these utility boxes) read the article, and asked me if I would like to paint their boxes instead.
I get paid a small fee for each one – enough to cover time and materials. Also I use Internet memes as the inspiration for a lot of them, because the boxes are our physical Internet connections – pictures of ‘AstroSloth’ and ‘Awkward Seal’ had probably already been transmitted through these boxes before I painted them on the outside of them.
They’ve had a great reception, both from the local communities and online, and I am planning to paint a lot more around the country – maybe the world!
More info: paulwalsh.co.nz
Awkward Seal
It’s So Shiny
Aquarium
Bird With Arms
Hipster Cat
Ponsonby Pigeon
Piggy Stardust
AstroSloth
Menswear Dog
Student Cat
Captain Possum
Ruapehu Rooster
Chimp Selfie
Geometric Landscape
Punky Rooster
DJ Willis
Fear Of A Black And White Planet
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Wonderful talent, I like them all but especially the cat ones...thanks for sharing with us :)
Brilliant, I wish they had these in my village, they make me feel happy.
Ditto. And OT, but the horse in your avatar is gorgeous. Looks Andalusian or Lusitano.
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Love the cat and the aquarium! Though others are incredible too. You are really talented and I can only imagine positive vibes these utility boxes bring to people in Auckland.
I drive past chimp selfie every day, and the rooster is on my street where I work! Great to know the story as I love the artwork.
The utility boxes in South Salt Lake City, Utah are painted, too! :)
Wellington next?! I would love to see these on my morning commute :)
I think it's fabulous that they are letting you cover up these plain ugly boxes with your art!!! More cities should allow artists to cover ugly buildings, electrical boxes, etc with murals. It brightens up the city and gives a lot of pleasure viewing them! Your art is wonderful, keep on going!!
We have a similar project on utility boxes in The Hague, Netherlands. We set up a tour so people can go see them: http://www.thehaguestreetarttour.com/. They are payed for by government funding because researchers found out it was the best solution against illegal tagging, pasting and dumping trash. When you get the people living around it involved, make them feel part of it, they will protect it and be proud of it (community art). Awesome work, keep it going!
In Potsdam, Germany, these boxes are also painted, fitting to it suroundings, what i personally prefer, but still a good job !
Wonderful talent, I like them all but especially the cat ones...thanks for sharing with us :)
Brilliant, I wish they had these in my village, they make me feel happy.
Ditto. And OT, but the horse in your avatar is gorgeous. Looks Andalusian or Lusitano.
Load More Replies... Love the cat and the aquarium! Though others are incredible too. You are really talented and I can only imagine positive vibes these utility boxes bring to people in Auckland.
I drive past chimp selfie every day, and the rooster is on my street where I work! Great to know the story as I love the artwork.
The utility boxes in South Salt Lake City, Utah are painted, too! :)
Wellington next?! I would love to see these on my morning commute :)
I think it's fabulous that they are letting you cover up these plain ugly boxes with your art!!! More cities should allow artists to cover ugly buildings, electrical boxes, etc with murals. It brightens up the city and gives a lot of pleasure viewing them! Your art is wonderful, keep on going!!
We have a similar project on utility boxes in The Hague, Netherlands. We set up a tour so people can go see them: http://www.thehaguestreetarttour.com/. They are payed for by government funding because researchers found out it was the best solution against illegal tagging, pasting and dumping trash. When you get the people living around it involved, make them feel part of it, they will protect it and be proud of it (community art). Awesome work, keep it going!
In Potsdam, Germany, these boxes are also painted, fitting to it suroundings, what i personally prefer, but still a good job !
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