Jonny 4Higher explored many options before settling on his present career, but eventually decided his passion for imagery was his true calling.
He has a website www.graffitimurals.co.nz that has a virtual gallery displaying his work that covers a wide variety of styles and disciplines from trompe l’oeil to children’s cartoon classics. The word graffiti has had negative connotations but Jonny says that Banksy’s work is the greatest thing that has happened not only to the street art movement, but to contemporary art in general.
Tagging is light years away from street art and Jonny congratulates the council for their unremitting work on removing this form of defacement on urban spaces. He contributed to the Williamson Avenue line-up of murals. His mural headed the display and was a depiction of how he envisioned the view from the ridge running down to the shore would have looked like before European settlement. In my opinion it was the best in the show and certainly gave one food for thought.
So what prompts Jonny’s enthusiasm for street art? He loves working outdoors and can’t operate in a studio environment which the mere thought of brings on a feeling of claustrophobia. He loves the larger surfaces that murals offer. Mind you, they are a young man’s game because to paint them necessitates a degree of physical agility. Jonny declares that when he can no longer climb ladders he’ll just resort to painting big canvases. He’s already taking precautions against accidents that could afflict his right hand by strapping his wrist and so forcing him to practice painting with his left hand. Are there further commissions in the pipeline? So many it’s mind boggling. Play centres, schools, museums, gyms, and countless other groups are lining up for his work.
This work has taken him as far as Hong Kong, Italy, France, Switzerland, England, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Hawaii, Miami and California. Not bad for a local lad domiciled in Grey Lynn. He’s originally from Christchurch but loves this part of the world and can’t imagine living anywhere else. His only complaint - the area could do with more street art. (DEIRDRE ROELANTS)