Brightening the streets one meme at a time

Auckland street artist Paul Walsh has achieved internet fame after his transformation of the city’s utility boxes.

Inspired by internet memes and with a desire to put a smile on people’s faces, Walsh has been employed by telecommunications infrastructure provider Chorus to brighten up the otherwise boring boxes.

Chorus realised Walsh’s eye-catching murals would cost them less than it does to remove graffiti, of which there has been a noticeable decrease since the murals started being painted (although this may also be due to Walsh’s personal connection with local taggers he noted in a Story interview).

With over 15 million shares online, who knew utility boxes could be so fascinating to the rest of the world. With this much success we wonder what Walsh’s next move could be, perhaps Auckland’s power poles could do with a bit of a spruce up? 

See the rest of the murals here.