Street artists Cinzah Merkens (aka Seekayem, left), Misha Uteev (Wert 159) and Simon Ormerod (Cracked Ink) during their transformation of the Kaikohe Hotel. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The street artist who transformed the crumbling Kaikohe Hotel into a giant work of art says he's keen to come back and paint another mural once the old pub is demolished.
The Advocate revealed last week that the once grand Kaikohe Hotel, abandoned by its publican and declared a dangerous
building by the council, had been bought by the Ngapuhi runanga.
The runanga, which already owns a service station and stationery shop just down the road, plans to demolish the pub and grass over the area until it comes up with a plan for the prime Broadway site.
In March this year, however, three street artists spent a week transforming one wall of the building into a striking, 240sq m work of art. Their much-loved mural will be lost when the building is pulled down.
Simon Ormerod, who goes by the artist name Cracked Ink, said street art was fleeting by nature - "it's here today, gone tomorrow" - but he didn't expect it would disappear quite so quickly.
