Mark Noble with one of his helpers Lhyrick Bidois, 12, at the mural. Photo / Andrew Warner
Mark Noble with one of his helpers Lhyrick Bidois, 12, at the mural. Photo / Andrew Warner
Those going past the Advocate Print building may have noticed a new mural starting to take shape.
Rotorua artist Mark Noble is working with a team of youth to paint an eco-friendly mural called Our World.
Mark says the original idea for this project was driven by a podcast he listened to which, in short, was about doing a project if it was going to be your last one ever.
“The podcast framed it as ‘what’s your death project’ - the last thing you would want to do before you die. So based from this, I wanted to paint Aotearoa’s largest known eco-friendly mural.
“From my research, there is no reported eco-friendly murals of this size. The wall itself is 30 metres by 12 metres, which equals 360 square metres of wall. What makes it eco-friendly is the paint - brand name Natural Paint Co - a Christchurch-based company.”
Mark says Natural Paint Co goes out of its way to find ethical and sustainable raw materials - titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate (chalk), manuka oil, castor oil - which is how the company makes its paint.
“There are no VOC [volatile air compounds], chemicals, synthetics in their paint which most paints have. These chemicals leach out into our air and lungs, so this paint is good for you and Papatūānuku/Ranginui (mother earth and our air/sky).
“Natural Paint Co also partner with a Brazilian/American NGO who invest/save the Brazilian Amazon from deforestation, so [for] every square metre of paint used on this project, one square metre of Amazon will be preserved. With multiple coats going into this mural, the project will be saving around 1440 square metres.”
There are three youths joining each week to help Mark on the mural. He says they come along once a week and spend five hours on the project.
“They have been blocking in some of the main colours with paint brushes and paint rollers, and are now working on putting detail into the grass section,” he says.
“So far, they appear to be enjoying it but have also said it’s hard work. It’s great they are giving it a go, because I want this project to provide an opportunity to have hands-on experience in the paint industry. Plus, it also gives them an idea about where dreams/ideas take you and what you need to do to get them done.”
Rotorua artist Mark Noble and group of youths are creating an eco-friendly mural. Photo / Andrew Warner
Mark says the project is set to take six weeks, and this week was their third.
“It’s coming along nicely, as the general colours and imagery are now present, and the public can see what all the ‘scribble’ was about.
“I hope that it brings a bout of joy and happiness to people who pass by, and I hope it can get people to think beyond this planet being ‘your world’ and think about it as ‘our world’.”
Mark encourages people to stop and say hi if they are passing by. He gives a special thanks to Creative Community Schemes, Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, Natural Paint Co, and One Foundation for sponsoring this project.
- Mark will also be sharing the mural process in a talk at the Arts Village on Saturday, April 8 from 10am to 11am. “So please come on down if you’d like to learn more about the project and mural painting process,” he says.
