Pink and White Terraces
Artwork Name: Pink and White Terraces
Artist Name: Jonny4Higher and Jacob Chrisohoou
Location: 1170 Pukuatua Street
Medium: Painted mural
The Pink and White Terraces were a favoured landscape in early New Zealand paintings.
Artists Jacob Chrisohoou and Jonny 4Higher applied a contemporary take on this famous landscape, whilst commemorating the tragic eruption of Mount Tarawera that buried the Terraces.
As Mount Tarawera looms ominously in the background of the mural, our eye is drawn to the cascading vivid pink terraces and the vibrant blues of steaming water.
The Pink and White Terraces were a favoured landscape in early New Zealand paintings and romanticised in the paintings of European tourists.
Artists Jacob Chrisohoou and Jonny 4Higher applied a contemporary take on this famous landscape, while commemorating the tragic eruption of Mount Tarawera that killed more than 120 people and buried the Terraces.
On the right of the mural in the foreground is a ruru (morepork, a type of owl). In Te Ao Māori, the ruru is the watchman of the night, whereas in European culture, the owl is often shown as a symbol of wisdom. In the artwork, this normally nocturnal bird is shown awake in the daytime, suggesting it knows something, perhaps the foresight of the impending danger.
Credit: Jacob Chrisohoou and Jonny 4Higher, Pink and White Terraces, 2014. Commissioned by Rotorua Lakes Council.
About the artist: After a start in graffiti, Jonny 4Higher is now a full-time freelance mural artist with over twenty years professional experience. Based in Auckland, Jonny regularly travels throughout the country painting a range of artworks. His work is also featured overseas in Hong Kong, Thailand, China, England, Europe, USA, Australia and the Cook Islands.
About the artist: Jacob Chrisohoou (Ngāti Porou) is a self-taught artist who began experimenting with street art through graffiti.
“The streets were my teacher and that culture heavily influenced me growing up. My art is a response to the things I feel, have seen, experienced and can connect to.”
Around 2008, Jacob began taking art more seriously, experimenting with airbrush, oils, inks and acrylics. Chrisohoou now has several murals around his hometown of Rotorua.
