Crime And Creativity Are The Focus Of A New Book By Author And Street Photographer, Jaimie Baird

Crime and creativity are the focus of a new book by
author and street photographer, Jaimie Baird.
Here Today Gone Tomorrow: Wellington Street
Art is an anthology covering four decades with
1200-plus images contained in a 224-page, hardcover coffee
table book, released this week. Wellington historian Redmer
Yska contributed a foreword.

Jaimie
has been described as a lunatic. In 1985 he wrote to Prime
Minister, David Lange, inviting him to join ‘Club Graffiti
– an international search for interesting graffiti’. The
PM declined due to the perceived association of graffiti
with a criminal act. He did however suggest that his cabinet
colleague Mrs Hercus may be interested. The Honourable Dame
Ann Hercus, was at the time, Minister for Police.

This
story starts with the arrival of the Hip Hop subculture in
Wellington in the early 1980s from New York and
Philadelphia, and with it what at the time was described as
graffiti bombing. From that beginning the book goes on to
document the riot of social comment, wild characters and
artistry that have populated Wellington’s cityscape from
1985 to 2024. Also included are fold-out panoramas – some
almost a metre wide — of selected works, and a series of
vignettes by contemporary street artists.

Art or
vandalism, protest or social commentary – how you see
street art depends on where you stand. Jaimie sees the
material contained in his book as a testament to human
imagination, innovation and cultural diversity. Jaimie says
‘Whilst the creativity is inspiring, it is also mixed with
a level of human depravity’. Whatever you make of it, this
book’s riot of colour and off-beat street images cement
Wellington’s reputation as ‘one of the coolest little
capitals in the world’, as described by Lonely Planet in
2014.

The book’s planned content was too
controversial for most publishers, resulting in the author
taking the risk and self-publishing. In part, the disclaimer
states – open this book at your own risk, and as the
saying goes ‘don’t shoot the
messenger’.

Available in April from all good
booksellers.

Primedia ISBN 978-473-67781-7 RRP
$70.00

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