Urban walls, bright future - art meets infrastructure with the City Rail Link

‘Ka mua, ka muri', which translates to 'walking backwards into the future' - a new mural installation at Fenton Street. Photo / Alex Burton

“Ka mua, ka muri”, meaning “walking backwards into the future”, is a newly installed mural artwork on Fenton St, Mt Eden, erected as City Rail Link (CRL) partners Link Alliance look to brighten up the construction site around the new Maungawhau Station.

The collaborative piece, originally exhibited in October 2022 at Te Waihorotiu Station site under the “Urban Walls” banner, celebrates the urban experience, with the artists using bright colours to reflect rejuvenation while also paying homage to the past - sentiments that sit well with the CRL project, which has a goal of looking forward to a future with a modern transport network for Tāmaki Makaurau but still honouring whakapapa.

This stencil piece by Matt Dowman shows his rendition of a future train. Photo / Alex Burton

“Throughout the City Rail Link project, we’ve been engaging with local artists to not only beautify the public hoardings around the various CRL construction sites, but as an effective medium of creative expression,” said Link Alliance project director Francois Dudouit. “It is fantastic we’ve been able to connect with some of our local and well-respected urban mural artists, who have created a stunning piece for the Urban Walls exhibition.”

The CRL is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project and aims to be the country’s greatest public art project, too.

The artwork adds vibrancy to an otherwise unattractive outlook for local communities. Photo / Alex Burton

The mural, by Elliot Francis Stewart, shows two hands, with one holding an old paper train ticket and the other hand holding an AT Hop card with a futuristic ethereal glow. Stylised typography by Holly Mafaufau of the words “Ka mua, ka muri” frames the piece alongside Mark Henare’s Māori representation of faces. Matt Dowman’s stencil pieces show his rendition of a future train and, also, a close-up of a passenger on the other panel.

The artwork adds vibrancy to an otherwise unattractive outlook for local communities. Collaborations between artists and the Link Alliance aim to engage the public with the project as the future for Auckland gradually takes shape.

Art should be a catalyst for community, discussion, action and, ultimately, to help instigate positive change in the world around us, says Dowman (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), an artist and fine art lecturer at Whitecliffe.

“Ka taea e tatou anake te mahi tahi, ka taea e tatou te mahi nui. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”