An Auckland street artist has defended the industry saying he gets discriminated against for just doing his job.
Street artists are celebrated and appreciated by millions around the world but artists in New Zealand say they frequently run into issues with police even when they have permission to create their artworks.
Jesse Jensen, better known as Ares Artifex, is a street artist who brings Auckland streets to life and has worked on various projects for organisations and individuals around the city.
Jensen told AM on Monday street artists shouldn't be viewed in the same way as people who illegally tag walls are.
"Some bad things happen to people using motor vehicles and knife or a tool, but if I'm standing there using the tool in the right way, I shouldn't be discriminated against and assumed that I am doing it the wrong way," he said.
"I think I should have the benefit of the doubt that I'm going about my life, innocent until proven guilty. That is my sort of stance on it, if I'm painting artwork in the 21st century I should be viewed in a positive way first and foremost."
Jensen's defence comes after he was left "traumatised" after being arrested for just doing his job.
He was commissioned to paint a mural on a fence on Auckland's North Shore, but was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car when he was questioned and then unable to make contact with his client.
"A gentleman crossed the road and had a go at me and then he left. A few minutes later the cops arrived, long story short I ended up in the back of a police car in handcuffs," Jensen tells AM.
"I did tell them what I was doing, I told them I had permission but I did kind of object to giving them the phone numbers of my client.
"It's a pattern of behaviour exhibited by police, council certain members of the community who see street art and graffiti and look down on it.
"They don't look at it as a thing to be celebrated and when someone like that requests a phone number and you give it to them and they call your client, this isn't advertising your industry for you. They aren't calling up to represent you in the best possible way, so it's counterproductive for them having the number a calling my client."
