What would nana think?Fences of hand stitched street art.

Metres of it.“Whacko!” that’s what my nana would have said.

Combining street art and stitching, she definitely wouldn’t have understood but the desire to get people talking and also learning a craft – those things she would have supported completely.

I first thought this idea could be seen as ‘naff’. Would anyone want to stitch in public? Would street artists want to contribute to a project like this?

My fears have been allayed – great New Zealand street and graffiti artists have sprayed the images and hundreds of people have contributed to stitching the works. Most pleasing is some of the great things that have happened:

• All of the artists have stitched on each others works and spent time hanging out with the works and talking to stitchers

• Children have begged their parents to come back and stitch more than once

• Some boys have gone home and started their own stitching projects – which they have even designed themselves

• There have been hundreds of conversations, some sad, some happy, new friendships and connections have been formed between different stitchers

• Lots of people feel a real emotional connection to the works and have shared great grandparent stories

As a project it has exceeded my wildest expectations and I want to acknowledge all the people who have made this possible.

Margaret Lewis

SUPERGRANSPRAYED BY DAGER

FOR ANN

Ann is a strong, capable & determined woman.She drove ambulances carrying wounded soldiers during World War 2. She married soldier Jack and together they migrated to New Zealand, settling and

farming in rural Northland.

At 93 she's still happier in the saddle than sitting idly in an arm-chair. This is her favourite horse

Lottie, they have a special bond.

SPRAYED BY COMPONENTStencil artist, DJ, father, old school Grey Lynn resident, knowledge-sharer.

You can’t walk through Grey Lynn, or Auckland for that matter, without being touched by Component’s work and his beautiful, pointed observations on everything from fallen Hip Hop legends, to the Queen and deeply political critiques on censorship and conformity. His work

demands public attention and brings the street to life as a medium for expression and debate.

Component is self taught and navigates the worlds of business and art carefully by diversifying and changing up his work constantly whilst giving back to the community, running workshops

and sharing his passion on art and DJing.

FOR ANNESPRAYED BY COMPONENT

FOR LITEA

My grandma was such a soft-hearted lady with some tough skin when needed.

She was born on a tiny island, Niuafoou in Tonga.In 1946 her family fled a volcanic eruption to

another island group, Vava'u. She sat crossed-legged on the floor weaving mats or making Taovala

(waist mat) and Ngatu (Tapa) making.

I would watch her and want to join in but was often told that only women created this kind of work.But that did not take my fascination away with Tongan motifs especially the 'Lupe' (dove) that

reminds me of her.

SPRAYED BY BENJAMIN WORKBenjamin Work is a South Auckland-based visual artist of Tongan and Scottish heritage.With a strong foundation in aerosol painting and gra�ti, Work is a core member of the

international art collective, TMD.

He has worked on diverse projects including large-scale public mural commissions,limited edition wine boxes and postage stamps. Recently, his practice has also expanded

to photography and performance.

Work has exhibited in Tijuana, Miami, Sydney and Tonga where he travels frequently.Work is also an active member of the Auckland-based Tongan art collective, No’o Fakataha,

in which he maintains a strong interest in Ngatu (Tongan bark cloth) making, design and motifs.

Work explores kula (red) and `uli (black), colours which have been used in Tongan thinking and practice, like the Pacific/Moana cultural concepts and practices, for centuries.

FOR LITEASPRAYED BY BENJAMIN WORK

FOR LITEA

My grandma was such a soft-hearted lady with some tough skin when needed.

She was born on a tiny island, Niuafoou in Tonga.In 1946 her family fled a volcanic eruption to

another island group, Vava'u. She sat crossed-legged on the floor weaving mats or making Taovala

(waist mat) and Ngatu (Tapa) making.

I would watch her and want to join in but was often told that only women created this kind of work.But that did not take my fascination away with Tongan motifs especially the 'Lupe' (dove) that

reminds me of her.

SPRAYED BY BENJAMIN WORKBenjamin Work is a South Auckland-based visual artist of Tongan and Scottish heritage.With a strong foundation in aerosol painting and gra�ti, Work is a core member of the

international art collective, TMD.

He has worked on diverse projects including large-scale public mural commissions,limited edition wine boxes and postage stamps. Recently, his practice has also expanded

to photography and performance.

Work has exhibited in Tijuana, Miami, Sydney and Tonga where he travels frequently.Work is also an active member of the Auckland-based Tongan art collective, No’o Fakataha,

in which he maintains a strong interest in Ngatu (Tongan bark cloth) making, design and motifs.

Work explores kula (red) and `uli (black), colours which have been used in Tongan thinking and practice, like the Pacific/Moana cultural concepts and practices, for centuries.

FOR LITEASPRAYED BY BENJAMIN WORK

FOR PAT

My grandmother Patricia loved pansies. My Mum said Gran used to say “a pansy for your thought”. Mum could never understand what she meant by this. When I talked to her about this project and how I could honour Gran graphically we talked

about using the pansy as well as this saying of hers.

It turns out that ‘pansy’ comes from the french word pensée meaning ‘thought’. That solved the

mystery. The pansy is also the flower ofremembrance, so it's perfect.

This project not only honours my beloved Gran who passed away too soon but solves a lifelong mystery about what she had been saying for all those years.

SPRAYED BY GHøSTIEGhostie was a nickname that was given to my 3-eyed character eight years ago by fellow

Dunedin street artist, Little Minx. In traditional gra�ti, the letter ‘o’ is often replaced by acharacter, which is why I ran with the name ‘Ghøstie’.

Drawing inspiration from NZ flora and fauna, I reinterpret our natural habitat by creatingcomplex abstracted patterns that still retain that graphic style from my character-based days.

I believe originality in one’s work is paramount as an artist. My hope is that my work will add vibrancy and contribute culturally to the areas where I paint, and that the members of these

communities take ownership and pride in the murals the street loves nana.

FOR PATSPRAYED BY GHØSTIE

FOR SHIRLEY

When we went to Nana's house way back when, without fail there would be a garden tour. Mum and

Nana, and Auntie if she was there, would walk around Nana's garden talking about how each plant

was getting along since last time, and takingcuttings for their own gardens.

As kids we loved playing in Nana's garden. It wason quite a slope, terraced and the plants all fully

established (overgrown in parts). That meant there were heaps of nooks and crannys for us to hide in,

make forts and play.

That's how I remember it anyway. Knowing me, I'd show this to Mum and she'd say "Oh no, that's not right, you kids used to hate the garden tours!" But in my mind it was a fond memory. Love you Nana.

SPRAYED BY DAGERI've come from a history of gra�ti, painting large scale works in the streets with spray-paint.

These days I don't sneak around so much, preferring legal walls and painting in my studio, having time to create the work how I want it to look as opposed to rushing under pressure.

Gra�ti is often text-based and this is the angle I've been playing along recently, paintingtypeface in sign-writer styles, using a brush more than a can.

FOR SHIRLEYSPRAYED BY DAGER

FOR RUBY

My great Grandmother Ruby owned two pugs when I was a child, Ming 1 and Ming 2. I always thought this was an oddball name but then again this was coming from a mid 90 year-old living on her own in Invercargill, still cooking on a wetback

and drinking copious amounts of Beefeater [gin] every night.

She was the raw deal, so strong willed and a true battle-axe. She taught me work ethics, to push on

no matter what and to stay true to yourself. Once Ming 2 passed away, the cats came….

all those cats.

SPRAYED BY GHøSTIEGhostie was a nickname that was given to my 3-eyed character eight years ago by fellow

Dunedin street artist, Little Minx. In traditional gra�ti, the letter ‘o’ is often replaced by acharacter, which is why I ran with the name ‘Ghøstie’.

Drawing inspiration from NZ flora and fauna, I reinterpret our natural habitat by creatingcomplex abstracted patterns that still retain that graphic style from my character-based days.

I believe originality in one’s work is paramount as an artist. My hope is that my work will add vibrancy and contribute culturally to the areas where I paint, and that the members of these

communities take ownership and pride in the murals the street loves nana.

FOR RUBYSPRAYED BY GHØSTIE

FOR MADAM MOI YONG

My father’s mother Popo, is in her late 80's.Record keeping wasn't too flash in her day so her

exact age is a guess.

She brought my father up in a Chinese village called Serdang in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She now lives in New Zealand and never wears less than five layers of

clothing. We communicate through charades and laughter.

In my memory she is a vivacious and tenacious women who worked for the sake of work. Even after making money through the world wide orchid boom in the 70's [after my Grandfather bought a orchid

farm with some of his bus driving colleagues] -she still made paper bags for ripening star fruit

and mangoes at the equivalent rate of 1 cent per bag.

My lasting memory? Po Po chasing a large lizard through her house with a cleaver, determined not to

let a free meal get away

SPRAYED BY TRUSTMETrustMe is a founding member of Cut Collective whose work explores the role and e�ect of the

street as a site/platform for viewers to engage with art.

FOR POPOSPRAYED BY TRUSTME