Flox's Asian inspiration (+watch)

NZ Herald

25 Aug, 2015 03:10 AM5 mins to read

Artist Hayley King, who works under the name Flox, was awarded an Asia New Zealand Foundation/Creative NZ residency in Taipei earlier this year, Stencil artist & print-maker, Flox's brief for the residency, was to create street projects to enliven the concrete ambience of the Taiwanese capital, The Work titled Ilha Formosa witch is Portuguese for "beautiful island" is exploring issues of habitat destruction and the need for urgent action to save critical endangered species. Watch Hayley navigate the Taipei metropolis home to 7.4 million people while leaving her distinctive mark on the city streets.

Auckland artist Flox has spent three months in Taipei trying to find some walls to spray-paint. Asia is an untapped source of inspiration, she tells Linda Herrick

When Auckland artist Hayley King, who works under the name Flox, was awarded an Asia New Zealand Foundation/Creative NZ residency in Taipei earlier this year, her family went along for the ride.

Partner Gareth Moon, a photographer and film-maker, and their 18-month baby, Indiana, went for the whole three months and Flox's 8-year-old son, Bo, joined them for the final month. Moon is tall, with dreadlocks. Flox has tattoos, and she and Indie both have white-blond hair. They got stared at a lot.

"In the first couple of weeks we hailed a taxi outside where we were staying and what little English the driver had, he said, 'I recognise you, I see you last week'," says Flox. "He remembered because of the hair and my tattoo. Tattoos are not normal there. But they were very friendly and they just loved Indie, especially the older women. They'd take photos and touch him."

Stencil artist, print-maker and a wizard with a spray-can, Flox's brief for the residency, which started on April 1 and ran until the end of June, was to create street projects to enliven the concrete ambience of the Taiwanese capital, home to 7.4 million people. Her attitude was flexible - it had to be.

"The language barrier was difficult at times. Sometimes we had to go for Plan B. We had this grand idea to do a project but we hit a brick wall early on. The idea was to find some really grungy Asian alleyways to paint and this is where we had the problem because no single person owns that wall. It's a collective ownership and to get sign-off from 15 older Taiwanese people who really don't care that much about what you do was not going to happen. So we let that one go."

Auckland artist Flox working in Stanley Bay, Hong Kong. Photo / Gareth Moon

The first time Flox painted was at Treasure Hill Artists Village, spending five weeks cutting stencils to create the Formosa Bear, a symbol of Taiwan and part of her ethos of bringing endemic plants and animals into her work.

At the same time, Flox and Moon were also networking, trying to find the right people to help get the work going. Flox linked up with Larry Chen, regional director of Pow! Wow! Taiwan, a branch of the global network of street artists, who tried to find some walls for her. Then he contacted her and said, "I think I've found you a job."

Oma's Berlin Bistro, a popular German restaurant in the Da'an District, needed a large internal mural. "I met the owner, we negotiated a budget, so one night I painted this for them," says Flox. "They were open for breakfast and dinner seven days a week so I had to start at 10pm and go until 5am. I said to the owner I am not cutting any more stencils so you are going to have to use what I've got. So I incorporated the Formosa Bear with some real basic stuff that relates back to the Berlin Bear Buddy across the top. She was rapt."

While doing that project, Flox cast a covetous eye on a wall behind the restaurant. The owner told her to go for it and the Clouded Leopard Mural - a homage to one of Taiwan's extinct animals - was born. It was her first street work in the city.

"People stopped, they loved it, there were no dramas," Flox says. "People were not hostile at all, it was a real eye-opener. I probably could have done that more but it's too risky when you are there representing New Zealand. Permission was key."

Flox's contacts from earlier work she has done here proved useful during the residency. An expat New Zealander based in Hong Kong who had seen her mural in La Rumbla restaurant in Arrowtown emailed an invitation to come and paint a wall in Stanley Bay. The family went to Hong Kong for a week, where Flox also hooked up with the Cat Street Gallery and placed a work in a group show. It sold on opening night.

She has also had a long association with Cloudy Bay wines, and went to Tokyo in June for a 30th anniversary event. " The event was to host magazine editors and PR people. I designed a cut piece for their anniversary and they got me to do a live piece of art. I prepped it in Taiwan, got it all ready, took it up and finished it in front of everyone."

Flox's solo show, which opens at Allpress Gallery next Tuesday evening, showcases replicas of work she did during the residency, with paintings, prints and handcuts complemented by a documentary made by Moon of her experiences. Now she wants to encourage other artists to go for the Asian residencies, "to tap into that amazing infra-structure and those amazing grants".

"It's three months with no distractions of any other work stuff, to make art and be inspired. Are you kidding me? I think my work has been taken to a new level. You have to keep being inspired and looking for those opportunities. It's a developmental thing. I want people to look at my work and know it's always changing. I have such awesome feedback here that my work is international and I really want to push that. I think Asia is untapped and I really want to focus on that region."