22 May 2012

Make a mark

20/07/2011 10:30:00 a.m.

0 Comments

Pauly gets to work at the Waitangi skate park.

Pauly gets to work at the Waitangi skate park.

Graffiti artist Pauly Clyne (known as Pauly) has moved to Wellington for some respite from the shaking in Christchurch, and to cover our walls in paint. He’s been here three weeks, and has already noticed a big difference in how Wellingtonians respond to his artwork.
 “I was painting at the skate park opposite Te Papa on Friday afternoon, and when I turned around 120 people were standing there… There were business guys in their 40s saying stuff like, ‘you’re so good at that’, where in Christchurch they just ring the cops or turn a cold shoulder and walk away. It’s a lot more accepting here than I thought it would be,” he says.
Pauly’s been painting in the graffiti community for 13 years – he was a teacher for Project Legit in Christchurch; a city council initiative that saw at risk teens and those caught tagging taught the skills to make more impressive works.
“[Most kids] would rather show off that way, with the real big things, than with the ugly, scrawly stuff. After they learn the basis of the technical stuff they want to get into the scene. It’s a real community… people out on a Saturday doing something big, rather than a whole lot of little things at night.”
For his next project, Pauly will paint a piece on Cuba Street.
“I’m gonna do an A to Z, starting from Webb Street at the Cuba end and finding enough space throughout the entire stretch of Cuba, on roller doors and little walls, to finish it… I enjoy working with letters and don’t often get the chance to try every letter on the wall. Each one will be different in style and colours... It’ll be a bit of a puzzle, you can walk down and see bits here and there…”
Pauly has been arrested in the past, but his days of sneaking round under cover of darkness are long gone. Much of his work is commissioned; he’s accepted invitations to work in places like Miami and has toured South Korea. His Cuba Street work will only begin after contracts have been signed with shop owners happy to get involved.  
Pauly says the main misconception people get about graffiti artists is that they’re, “high school kids on a rampage”.
“The majority are guys in their 30s, some are in their 50s, spending near on $30,000 a year on paint,” he says.
The paint is paid for with commissions, sponsorship and competition prize money.
“I’m just a normal guy with a passion for something, waiting for an opportunity to put my mark on the art scene.
Email This Print

0 Comments

Don't worry, we wont make this public

No comments.

Cover Story

Best of Wellington 2011

Briefs

  • A question of nutrition

    Controversial Washington-based nutritionist Sally Fallon-Morell is to speak in Wellington on March 29.
    Fallon-Morell is the co-founder of the American food lobby group the Weston A. Price Foundation and the author of Nourishing Traditions. She advocates for the consumption of nutritionally dense foods such as lacto-fermented vegetables, stocks and broths, and whole raw dairy products.
    Fallon-Morell will speak at St Patrick’s College Hall on March 29.

  • Relay for cancer

    Organisers say Sunday’s Relay for Life is full to capacity with hundreds of Wellingtonians registered for the event.
    A total of 88 teams, made up of 10 to 500 members, plan to take part with a further 25 teams on the waiting list.
    The 24 hour relay, the Cancer Society’s biggest fundraising event of the year, takes place at Frank Kitts Park from 4pm on March 31.

  • Osteoarthritis awareness

    Arthritis New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign raise awareness about osteoarthritis. 
    Arthritis is New Zealand’s leading cause of disability, affecting 305,000 adults, and osteoarthritis is its most common form.
    The campaign features television commercials and an interactive website.


  • Wild walk

    Take part in the Big Walk at Zealandia on March 31.
    Walkers can choose a two, five or 10 kilometre walk catering to all fitness levels.
    Money raised will go to the Foundation for Youth Development.

  • School pool

    The opening of the new Khandallah School pool this week means hundreds of children will be able to continue their swimming lessons.
    The pool was the first to receive a grant from Wellington City Council’s Schools Pools Partnership Fund, a fund set up in 2010 to help schools improve their pool facilities.
    Grants from the fund have also been made for pools at Wellington East Girls’ College, Barhampore School and Tawa School.

  • Easter bikers

    Motorcyclists are invited to get on their bikes and collect Easter eggs for families support from the Wellington City Mission.
    The charity run on April 1 is organised by motorcycle lobby group BONZ.
    Eggs can be donated at Red Baron Motorcylces in Alicetown. The registration fee for bikers is $10, plus the cost of Easter eggs.

  • Crafty

    Made on Marion opens on the site of the former Golding Handicrafts site in Marion St, from April 1.  They will continue to supply craft materials.

  • Ze upgrade

    Taranaki Street fuel users will notice that the Z Energy’s former Shell Service Station is closed.  Z are doing a “total revamp”.
    The job will take four weeks.

  • Newlands Moves

    Developer Ayal Aharoni has agreed to build only 90 instead of 220 houses on his six and a half hectares above Ngauranga Gorge in Newlands.  Only low density occupation will be allowed on the remaining 8.4 hectares.


  • Baring Head

    There's a new  draft plan out for what should happen at Baring Head.  It outlines how the Greater Wellington Regional council would like to manage the newest addition to its regional parks network. Grazing animals will go, motorised vehicles will be prohibited, predators will be controlled, and the lighthouse will be preserved. Submissions are invited.


  • It’s a wonder

    A new childcare centre in Newtown says it is dedicated to helping kids grow up healthy in mind, body and spirit. Little Wonders Childcare on Rintoul Street is an independent early childhood education and learning centre, the sixth centre to be opened by its Auckland-based owner. It caters to 100 children aged between three months and five years old and has been open for a little more than seven weeks.

  • Festival treats

    CHILDREN have not been forgotten by organisers of the New Zealand International Arts Festival.
    For a perfect first theatrical experience White tells the story of friends Cotton and Winkle who live in a world where there is no colour and everything is startlingly white. That is until a brightly coloured egg tumbles out of the sky and changes their world for ever.
    White plays at Capital E from March 7-11.
    The tale of Peter and the World also promises to be a magical night for all ages. Sergei Prokofiev’s classic children’s tale is told through film and live music from the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the Michael Fowler Centre on March 9.
    March 11 is Young Writers and Readers Day and readings from children’s writers and illustrators Lynley Dodd and Gavin Bishop.

Reader's Poll

Should TVNZ7 be saved as non-commercial?