Wow. Look at the detail in this Historic Howick Mural. It’s amazing isn’t it? This incredible artwork sits proudly on the corner of Fencible Drive and Cook Street. Commissioned by the Howick Village Business Association it was funded by a grant from the Department of Justice. The brief was simple: depict Howick’s history. The owners of the nearby Rosscourt building however wanted a maritime theme. The artist however had a different vision.
The artist Joel Nicholls faced a unique challenge. He needed to photograph people without drawing attention to himself. So he cleverly photographed them from behind while they were distracted watching a parade and animals. This ensured the figures in the mural weren’t staring directly at the viewer which would have been visually boring. He chose oils for the painting to capture fine detail. Acrylics dry a different colour when wet making touch ups difficult.
The mural’s frames aren’t actually frames at all. They are builder’s architrave made from a hard wood and specially treated. The artist cleverly designed them so rainwater doesn’t get trapped and the air can dry them out. He even painted them all around and aged them with a thin layer of tar. The figures in the mural are largely inspired by photographs taken at Auckland Zoo. Two are the artist’s own daughters.
The main scene of the mural is based on a 1910 photograph. The photo is from almost the exact same spot the mural now occupies. It’s even featured on the cover of Grey’s Folly a history of Howick. Nicholls painted this image in his studio on a massive wood panel. The original painting is for sale and he used a high-resolution photograph to create a huge print. He used a 50MP camera and digitally expanded it to 7.6 meters by 2.5 meters. It was printed on five sticky-back panels. This was an innovative approach never before used for a mural of this size and complexity.
The old black and white photocopy presented its own set of challenges. The artist had limited detail and no colour references. He had to anticipate the fading of the red iron roofs. He painted them much redder than he would have liked to compensate for UV damage. He regrets not knowing about the old church at the far end of the road as it’s not visible in the original photo.
So there you have it. The story of the Historic Howick Mural. A testament to artistic skill and ingenuity. A visual narrative of Howick’s history brought to life through a unique and innovative process. It’s a fascinating piece of art truly worth appreciating.