Mikaere Gardiner has taken his art indoors at the old "Chinese Laundry" on Drews Ave with his exhibition Tiki Boom II, which opens tonight at 5pm.
The Wanganui-born street artist's exhibition is a fundraiser to help with his three-month residency in Kathmandu, from March next year.
He is happy to be taking partner Sophie Lindsay and their daughter Frida, who will turn 5 in December.
Tiki Boom II features a massive canvas with a portrait silhouette of Frida, and head prints on fine linen from posters Gardiner had pasted around the streets of New Plymouth in response to a "cleaning up graffiti" campaign. Gardiner says the linen is synonymous with "tea towels cleaning up".
The head prints are a little risque and playful, because he "loves the idea of playing with cultural taboos".
Last year Gardiner took the exhibition to Austria and next week he will head to Melbourne to collaborate with other street artists, among them renowned Polish street artist Mik Shida, in the city's celebrated Hosier Lane.
Miss Lindsay will film Gardiner's street art during the Sattya Media Art Collective Kolor Kathmandu, which has invited artists to colour the streets of Kathmandu and bring it to life.
"We'll be bringing freshness to the smaller cities and towns in Nepal," he said.
Last November, Gardiner spent four weeks in Vienna as artist in residency with the Eike Boehme Foundation.
"I was not with my family. I get so much more if they are around."
Miss Lindsay's creative advice and composition help Gardiner with his art.
His mother, artist Te Maari Gardiner, inspires his street art to "uplift people".