Jil Sergent unveils award-winning mural in Napier

Hawke’s Bay artist, Jil Sergent, has unveiled her award-winning mural on the large roller door of Beagle’s Bees Honey Factory in Onekawa Industrial area in Napier.

Jil was one of ten winners from across the country who took out the top prize in Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s (KNZB) Resene Nature Murals Competition 2019.

The mural, titled ‘Stop Poisoning Paradise’, centres around the importance of bees within our whole ecosystem. In her submission Jil outlined that poisons such as glyphosates are detrimentally affecting the entire ecosystem and the use of the word WHY is repeated in the outer circle to represent the mutation that bees are going through with sublethal poisoning.

On completion of the mural Jil said: “It’s such a relief to complete this mural and I am grateful to Beagle of “Beagle’s Bees” for allowing me to use the large door of his Organic Principles Honey Factory to spread the message that we urgently need to stop poisoning paradise as the bees are dying off!”.

The Resene Nature Murals Competition, which is part of the Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme, ran from February – April 2019, with artists encouraged to submit mural designs which included an environmental message. Artists from around the country sent in their designs, with the top ten murals selected based on their environmental message, enhancement of the community, and originality/creativity. Winning designs receive a $1000 grant, along with a $750 Resene paint voucher and other materials to paint their mural.

KNZB CEO, Heather Saunderson, said: “KNZB is proud to partner with Resene again this year to deter vandalism and Paint New Zealand Beautiful. Numerous studies have shown the great impact murals have on their surrounding communities – from increasing civic pride, to a reduction in anti-social behaviour such as littering and graffiti.  Together with Resene, we’re excited to see Jil’s mural come to life and to help Hawke’s Bay beautify their corner of New Zealand”.

Jil Sergent’s completed mural ‘Stop Poisoning Paradise’ Beagle’s Bees Honey Factory in Onekawa Industrial area in Napier.

The ten winning artists and regions are listed below, with their designs visible on the Keep New Zealand Beautiful website.

  • Yeon Seo Kim – Auckland
  • Sara Fernandez – Auckland
  • Luther Ashford – South Taranaki
  • Stan Mans – Hastings
  • Jil Sergent – Central Hawkes Bay
  • Isobel Te Aho-White – Wellington
  • Rosa Friend – Wellington
  • Hannah Starnes – Nelson
  • Madison Kelly – Dunedin
  • Claire Rye – Dunedin

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