Artists keen to make new splash in town

Street artists Cinzah Merkens (aka Seekayem, left), Misha Uteev (Wert 159) and Simon Ormerod (Cracked Ink) during their transformation of the Kaikohe Hotel. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The street artist who transformed the crumbling Kaikohe Hotel into a giant work of art says he's keen to come back and paint another mural once the old pub is demolished.

The Advocate revealed last week that the once grand Kaikohe Hotel, abandoned by its publican and declared a dangerous building by the council, had been bought by the Ngapuhi runanga.

The runanga, which already owns a service station and stationery shop just down the road, plans to demolish the pub and grass over the area until it comes up with a plan for the prime Broadway site.

In March this year, however, three street artists spent a week transforming one wall of the building into a striking, 240sq m work of art. Their much-loved mural will be lost when the building is pulled down.

Simon Ormerod, who goes by the artist name Cracked Ink, said street art was fleeting by nature - "it's here today, gone tomorrow" - but he didn't expect it would disappear quite so quickly.

"It's a little bit disappointing, mainly for the people in Kaikohe. I'm sure it put a lot of smiles on their faces."

Mr Ormerod said it would be expensive to preserve the mural as it was but it could be cut up into three sections and mounted in different places around the town.

"Another option is, if a new location can be found, we'd be happy to come back and do another one. It would be cool to catch up with everyone again. We got really good support in Kaikohe, but there wasn't a lot going on for young people. This kind of thing can get them thinking."

Mr Ormerod, who lives near Warkworth, was helped by fellow street artists Cinzah Merkens (aka Seekayem, of Auckland) and Misha Uteev (Wert 159, from Russia). He was certain Mr Merkens would be keen to help create a fresh mural but Mr Uteev was currently painting at art festivals in Germany and Russia.

Mr Ormerod said he was also happy to work with the runanga to brighten up the town.

The Kaikohe Business Association paid for the paint.