If you’re in the market for a real bona fide “Holy shit, look at that!” experience, try heading down to the eastern end of Abel Smith Street, opposite the Southern Cross.

Tattoo Apartments exterior by Drypnz
A better quality possibly daytime image is deserved to do it justice

Where on the corner of Wigan Street there was once a Tattoo Museum (or this), with an imposing moai on the street front (image), there is now the three-storey Tattoo Apartments building. That’s not the “holy shit” moment, however. The “holy shit” moment is related to the massive (MASSIVE! three-stories massive!) artwork by reknowned local street-artist Drypnz that adorns the Abel Smith Street-facing edge of the building — two (significantly more than the moai) imposing figures presiding over the entranceway like a pair of sentinels or possibly even LOTR’s Argonath.

This is the most courageous large-scale building decoration I’ve ever seen or heard of. Much respect to the building owner.