Stencil Graffiti

Walking the streets of Dunedin, I have become increasingly interested in the art form that is stencil graffiti. Artists turn images into stencils and use spray paint to decorate the urban canvas - but beautification is not their only goal, and that is what makes the art form so provocative and salient. It demands your attention:

"Street art is both an expression of our culture and a counterculture in itself. ‘Communication’ has become a modern mantra: the city streets shout with billboards, fly posters and corporate advertising, all vying for our attention. They almost invite a subversive response. As high-tech communications have increased, a low-tech reaction has been the recent explosion in street art."

Stencil Graffiti by Tristan Manco.

Dunedin appears to be home to a number of very talented stencil artists, who stamp out works of varying message, size and complexity. Below are just a few examples of the stencil canvas that is Dunedin.

This ferocious burger lurks in an alcove near the New World City Centre grocer. It is a pre-made stencil or poster that has been wheat pasted onto the wall. It seems to be a little angry about something, or pointed toward some message, but I will not try to pin it down. Raaar!

This fantail is much smaller, and incredibly detailed. It is on the wall opposite the burger, and is perhaps more common than even the living, breathing urban fantails, as there are many more of them in the native bush and forests of New Zealand. This stencil is fairly ubiquitous around the University of Otago, and says a good deal about the lack of bird habitat in the city.

This tie-wearing spraycan-crushing dude is also in various locations around town, this one just east of the Leith on St David. We could say that this is the "man" trying to crush the "can," or the graffiti artist, but the simple fact that such a large stenciling exists so close to campus proves that the can cannot be stopped so easily.

These flies spot the foundation of the Zoology building on Great King St, and other walls and buildings around campus. Pretty cute really, and a nice addition to the boring gray stone.

This gentleman and his fat head are a more recent development. I wish I knew who he was. Whoever he is, I like his roundish glasses, spherical head, and very pronounced goatie. But I don't know if I should!

This trio of masks is on a support pole of a building south of campus. They may be Maori tribal masks, but I am not quite sure. Perhaps if I knew a bit more about the traditional symbols...but someone does, and they are making a statement here by demanding to be seen.

This wasp and the one below it are the only two-layer stencils I have seen around town, and are very dramatic. They are both on Great King St. south of Albany, on either side of the road. They are very appropriately made for the wall (top) and the ground (bottom). Yeah, buddy!

Okay, I have saved the best for last (but there will be more - this was just Dunedin south of campus). This gentleman is running up a fire exit on the side of a building across from the Cook Tavern on Great King and Albany Sts. You may not be able to tell from this angle, but it is a life-sized stencil! That means that the artist (who is extremely talented, and daring) had to have a stencil that folded many times over. This one can also be seen on the front of The Bath St, a local dance club featuring drum and bass, reggae, hip hop, dub, R&B, and much more - I am unsure whether or not it was invited, since it fits in so well there.

Check out StencilRevolution.com to learn more about stencil graffiti internationally. They highlight works, artists, resources and links from around the world, and even offer tutorials in a helpful "how to" section.

That is all for now, look for more exciting stencils to come...