Eketāhuna's white kiwi, next to the Chorus building, received some feathers recently when Mark Watson and some volunteers spruced up the icon. Mark is believed to be the only 3D mural painter in the Southern Hemisphere. "We reinforced some of the fibreglass that was cracking," he said.
"I gave it several coats of paint to achieve a feathering effect to retain the look of the white kiwi. There are four different tones of greys and off-whites to create the idea of depth. Being a flat surface, that was the challenging element," he said. It gives a new meaning to paint feathering.
The work was commissioned by the Eketāhuna Our Town committee. "It's awesome, they're so keen on supporting local art, vibrancy and colour," said Mark.
The kiwi was painted in 2013, taking it from its traditional brown to white to celebrate the births of three rare white kiwis at Pūkaha Mount Bruce.
The new paint job was also significant in reinforcing the fact that Eketāhuna is the closest town to the wildlife centre that houses the white kiwi. The white kiwi was relocated from Eketāhuna's southern entrance on July 4, 2016, to its present home as part of the town's upgrade.
