Mammoth mural unveiled at Auckland Viaduct

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

A massive mural stretching 150 metres long and eight metres high is spanning the whole western wall of the New Zealand Maritime Museum in Auckland.

Napier artist Cinzah Merkens has created the artwork decking the museum on Hobson Wharf in the Viaduct.

The renowned contemporary artist said that while all his murals are personally significant, some, like this one, take on a special quality.

"It was a pleasure to be able to exemplify the Maritime Museum’s increasing focus on ocean health and sustainability by making the predominant design element of the mural the natural environment of the Hauraki Gulf and the Waitematā.”

A life-sized humpback whale and giant octopus, hammerhead and mako sharks, kahawai, and snapper swim amongst sea grasses and other ocean habitats.

Matariki and other celestial navigation markers fill the night sky, with Auckland’s iconic Rangitoto presiding in the background.

The flowing waves representing ancestors' journeys to Aotearoa are enhanced by depictions of the waka hourua Haunui and the brigantine Breeze, vessels berthed in the Maritime Museum marina.

To see time lapse footage of the mural, go here:
www.dropbox.com...