BOON street art gives Hamilton a love story

Charles and Janine Williams’ ‘A Love Story’ mural soars above Hamilton’s Victoria on the river. Photo: Horiana Henderson

True to their word BOON 2018 artists Charles and Janine Williams returned over the Easter break to complete their grand design on Skycity Hamilton’s Victoria on the River wall.

“A Love Story” is Hamilton’s largest mural and is the couple’s retelling of a local Māori legend.

“With our murals we always find a local narrative or an iwi connection to a story,” Janine said.

The public piece speaks of a kārearea (New Zealand falcon) that carried high-born twins Reipae and Reitu from Waikato to Whangarei for marriage.

Parents of four, the Williams’ graffiti worlds combined 16 years ago and they have been imprinting urban contemporary spaces together ever since. VOTR’s 35-metres-wide-by-19-metres-high wall proved to take longer than could be managed on the BOON March 8-11 weekend, and the pair’s return saw a realisation of their design.

Charles detailed the vast-winged kārearea and Janine tackled the sacred Taupiri maunga in white, the mighty Waikato in blue and the niho taniwha community design in black.

Urban contemporary artists Charles and Janine Williams at Hamilton’s BOON 2018 street art festival. Photo: Horiana Henderson

Janine said that BOON connects the city to the larger street mural arts festival scene occurring internationally. “It’s nice that Hamilton’s included in that now,” she said.

BOON co-founder Charlotte Isaac returned from Taupo’s Graffiato street art festival and wanted the same walls-meet-local-creativity-scene for her city.

Into its third year BOON now boasts 30 walls. Isaac said wall-owners are reporting selfie and media gains from the “landmark” features.

“We absolutely love it and we just think that Hamilton deserves it. That’s why we do it, because we love Hamilton and we just want it to be the best it can be,” she said.

Isaac joined with aesthetes and community-minded fellows to take art live.

“Public spaces that are filled with art that people then talk about and interact with – we just think that’s essential for a city so we’re just going about making that happen,” she said.

Local artist Paul Bradley, aka Paul Be, co-founded BOON with Isaac in response to dire circumstances.

“When we started it felt like the city was dying,” Bradley said. For him BOON is about making Hamilton a creative place where people want to be and to give the city life.

Kell Sunshine’s BOON 2018 conservation dream-scape returns lively elements to Hamilton CBD’s retired Municipal Pools. Photo: Horiana Henderson

The 10 BOON 2018 artists invited to invigorate the city ranged from third year Wintec student Liam Bourton to internationally renowned artists Hayley King aka Flox and “A Love Story” creators Charles and Janine Williams.

BOON organisers, Bradley and Wintec tutor Tim Croucher acknowledged the “monster effort” the artists contribute to the event.

“It’s not a festival without them. They’re right at the core of it and it is amazing what they do,” Bradley said.

During BOON 2018 VOTR visitors commented on the street art festival on March 10.