This impressive street art has appeared in the last few weeks on my walking route home along Colombo Street. It is worth pausing to look at it closely to pick up the ‘sea signals’ which concern the artist. Unlike others in the Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival, it is like a diagram or a page out of a children’s text book in its representation of a sea theme. It seems to rise out of the wall with shadows and angles and images breaking free of the frame.

I felt uneasy looking at the mural. Partly obscured by the sign on the fence in this photo, a green plastic bag floats to the bottom of the ocean and a piece of litter floats on the surface. The sea life seems to flee from the invading boat which may – or may not – abide by the rules for the size of its catch. It could be about to dredge the depths of the ocean as the depth scale and zones suggest. Even though the vessel looks harmless enough with its clean bright lines, it is sneaking into the scene with a shadow beneath it. It might be a boat for scientific research or fishing: marlin is a prized trophy catch as this one knows (thanks, Ernest Hemingway). Whatever the case, the boat represents human intrusion and all that implies.