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915 days ago

Auckland street artist 'at war' with taggers who keep vandalising his work

Caroline Williams Reporter from Western Leader

An Auckland street artist says he is “at war” with taggers who keep vandalising his work.

Jesse Jensen​, who paints under the name Ares Artifex​, has painted murals across Auckland, including for Auckland Council, the Department of Conservation and the Ministry of Justice.

The West Auckland resident said work like his helped to beautify ugly places, such as bare walls and construction sites.

However, this year Jensen has been battling “toys”, or graffiti artists who tag over someone else’s art with the intention of wrecking it. One of his pieces in Henderson has been tagged about 30 times.

Jensen said that while it was frustrating for him and his clients when his art was vandalised, he had empathy for the taggers and understood why they did it: to lash out at someone who had permission to paint legally.

Jensen believed Auckland Council could curb offensive tagging if it provided more space for graffiti artists to paint legally. The council said it trialled this in the past, however the graffiti had spread onto adjacent properties.

Click 'read more' for the full story.

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1 day ago

Think You Know It All? Try Solving This First!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

How can you make 30 using only the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 with each number only used once?

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6 days ago

Are you keeping it old school?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

We know that things come back around, look at vinyl records!

Do you still use any old-school technology (like landlines or VHS tapes) at home?

Let us know in the comments.

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1 day ago

The Riddler wants to hear from you! 🎉

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

Our daily riddles have been a fun way to start the day and spark some friendly competition, but we’re thinking about mixing things up—and we’d love your input!

What do you enjoy most about the riddles? Is it the brain-teasing puzzles, the themed photos, or the big reveal in the afternoon?

If you could tweak one thing, what would it be? Maybe you’d like harder riddles, different themes, or see riddles in a different style or format!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Your ideas could help shape the next chapter of our riddles! 🧩

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