Artist Julia Holden is re-creating as billboards five paintings of well-known Christchurch sites in the present day.

The art occupies signs around Auckland, owned by Media5, iSite and APN. Each image was chosen by Christchurch residents to represent their city.

Holden created 10 paintings in total, extending the concept of Present Tense/Wish You Were Here, which introduced a postcard series showing Christchurch today.

“Artists have certainly employed billboards to present artworks before, but I don’t believe anyone has ever installed five at once. I am, in effect, claiming the whole city as my exhibition venue and getting painting out into the spaces where we work and live,” says Holden.

“This project honours the on-going, present-day reality of people living in this damaged city, and offers a unique way of calling positive attention to Christchurch. My hope is that this billboard campaign will gently remind people that we are still here, and encourage dialogue and connection with the wider New Zealand community.”

Image: Juliaholden.com