Now and then: Natalia Rak's mural has been painted over. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton / Natalia Rak
The artist behind a well-loved Dunedin mural says she has no idea why it has suddenly vanished.
Polish artist Natalia Rak painted 'Love is in the Air' on the side of a Bond Street building in 2015, depicting two people sitting on a bench.
It was recently replaced by a blank blue wall.
"Unfortunately, I haven't received any information about the decision to cover my mural. This news has left me feeling a bit sad," Rak said.
"I understand that murals in public spaces have a limited lifespan, and the paint fades over time. It's a part of the natural cycle of life and art.
"Despite this, I hold onto the wonderful memories from Dunedin and the warm reception my mural received."
In a statement on social media, Dunedin Street Art Charitable Trust said the building's owners made them aware the mural would need to be removed as part of repairs to the wall.
"They indicated they would be keen to host another mural and the [trust] will work with them to do this now the wall has been completed," it said. "We're working together now to come up with options for a new mural on that wall."
Rak said she enjoyed her time in the city and would be interested in returning.
"If the opportunity arises, I will be more than happy to paint another new mural in Dunedin."
The work was part of a wider network of street art throughout the city centre, which the Trust had turned into a street art trail.
Dunedin City Council said the mural was not one of its projects.
"It's important to note murals like 'Love is in the Air' are only ever intended to be temporary artworks," a spokesperson said. "Ownership of them sits with building owners and they can remove them whenever they wish."
Sue Dovey, a former Dunedin resident who helped advocate for the artwork, hoped it would be repainted on the building.
Dovey owned an apartment at 5 Liverpool Street (the address of the mural) and lived across the road on Bond Street, where she saw the artwork everyday.
"You can easily see it from the street and through a cafe there. It's really well-known, every day there were people walking past it, people taking photographs of it," she said.
The meaning behind the artwork was connected to the local community and the story of how the artwork came to be, Dovey believed.
"The back story may not be well-known. It was a picture of a little boy and a little girl. The little boy had a lollipop and wasn't sharing it with the little girl.
"It is a commentary on how one man objected through the consent process to having this painting being done, basically," she said.
Another artwork was originally planned for that wall, but it went on another building when the person who lived in the building objected, sending it to a hearing which pushed it out of the artists' timeframe, Dovey said.
Love is in the Air almost did not happen either, when it also went to a hearing for the same reason.
Dovey had lived in the area, called the Warehouse Precinct, for years.
"It was built up with all these big, old Victorian buildings in the 1860s to 1880s, during and after the Otago gold rush," Dovey said.
Much of the precinct was converted into flats in the early 2000s and became a bit rundown, she said, but there was a noticeable change when the council began consenting street art.
"The whole area is now this very friendly, trendy cafe area with street art all over the place.
"It would be really nice if it could be replaced because it's an important part of the history of Dunedin, that area and the history of that building.
"I can understand why that wall might've been crumbling and needing to be replaced [given how old the building is] but I do hope they replace the street art as well."
