Artist Bruce Mahalski holds a lion’s skull in front of his mural of the Lawrence Lions on George St in Dunedin, which replaces a previous mural he painted that had been defaced with graffiti.
The mural was finished this week.
The Lawrence Lions, which are preserved and on display at Otago Museum, were shot by local police in 1978 for safety reasons after escaping a circus in Lawrence.
Mr Mahalski said sharing the artwork was an act of conservation, and an opportunity to remember an important moment in history.
Painting lions was also a nod to former Dunedin company Tiger Tea, which had a well-known advertisement on the same George St wall years ago.
Mr Mahalski has painted more than 20 animals from his Museum of Natural History in several locations in the area, from Portobello to Port Chalmers.
He said he planned for his artworks to be close enough together for an art walk.
‘‘I paint animals because I love animals, and many are sadly becoming extinct due to climate change. My art is drawing attention to that.’’
Hannah Brown
