With an estimated population of 50,000, the New Zealand fur seal is a common site along the coasts. Yet they were nearly hunted to extinction by the early Polynesian and European settlers. The other crowned creature is an elephant seal. To build awareness of the plight of New Zealand marine animals, artist Flox participated in the Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans festival in 2017. This was the second year international artists were invited to Napier to create large-scale murals with an ocean environment theme. The event is sponsored by the PangeaSeed Foundation. Flox is an accomplished artist from Auckland. She specializes in paintings of birds, flowers and ferns. In preparation for this mural titled “Honor and Trust,” she created an enormous, hand-cut stencil.
