Over the last two years I have decorated 15 utility boxes around Auckland, New Zealand, with my artworks. Here’s how it happened; back in 2013, I had a few beers and painted a Grumpy Cat on a wall in my local dog park. It got painted out, and the locals were upset and petitioned the council. My friend snuck an article about this into a local newspaper, and then someone who works for Chorus (the company that owns these utility boxes) read the article, and asked me if I would like to paint their boxes instead.
I get paid a small fee for each one – enough to cover time and materials. Also I use Internet memes as the inspiration for a lot of them, because the boxes are our physical Internet connections – pictures of ‘AstroSloth’ and ‘Awkward Seal’ had probably already been transmitted through these boxes before I painted them on the outside of them.
They’ve had a great reception, both from the local communities and online, and I am planning to paint a lot more around the country – maybe the world!
More info: paulwalsh.co.nz
Awkward Seal
It’s So Shiny
Aquarium
Bird With Arms
Hipster Cat
Ponsonby Pigeon
Piggy Stardust
AstroSloth
Menswear Dog
Student Cat
Captain Possum
Ruapehu Rooster
Chimp Selfie
Geometric Landscape
Punky Rooster
DJ Willis
Fear Of A Black And White Planet
