Giant Kiwi icons may soon adorn NY

Noted street artist Owen Dippie seen at work in Tauranga on a huge mural of Princess Diana. Photo / Alan Gibson

Kiwi icons such as Billy T James and Sir Edmund Hillary could soon grace the facades of Manhattan high-rises as a Bay of Plenty street artist takes his talent to the walls of the world.

Owen Dippie, who, in Tauranga, is halfway through a three-storey high portrait of Princess Diana, recently painted murals across New York's five boroughs in a exhibition with other world-renowned street artists in the city's lower east side.

The 27-year-old plans to return soon, with visions of adorning a building with a sprawling re-creation of one of C.F. Goldie's famed portraits of Maori dignitaries.

"I'd love to do a Goldie on the streets of New York somewhere ... and paint it huge."

The Kawerau-born, fulltime artist said New Zealand's street art scene was already recognised across the globe.

"For such a small country, we've got the greatest street-art scene in the world. It's such a shame how it's frowned upon here, because when you go to places like New York, they know all about it."

Mr Dippie, who has had a passion for painting since he was a schoolboy, began working with spray cans in the early 2000s before growing his international status.

Among his proudest works have been giant murals of his heroes Billy T James and Michael Jackson, and an eye-catching memorial to Sir Edmund Hillary he painted on the back wall of a Tauranga fishing shop in 2008.

In an alley in industrial Mount Maunganui, Mr Dippie spent days painting a large mural of another of his idols, murdered rap artist The Notorious B.I.G, and the rest of the block will soon feature Che Guevara, Bob Marley and Bruce Lee.

"I always tend to do art with people who have passed on. It's about representing those who can't represent themselves any more. One guy was calling it the art of respect, which I thought was pretty cool."

He hopes to finish Princess Diana before the anniversary of her death on August 31.

"The reaction to it so far has been nothing but positive. I'd never painted her or drawn her before but I've always admired her, she kind of reminded me of my mum. One day I'd love to replicate it elsewhere in the world ... It'd be great for her kids to see her drawn that big somewhere."

Once the portrait is complete, he plans to use the same wall for a "24-hour exhibition" that could be shared with budding street artists.

A nearby gallery he is opening in September would also host guest exhibits. "I might try to hold regular workshops ... and hopefully build a little empire of art."