A term meaning complex, dramatic and extravagantWe discussed the logistics of the job, but not the content. Julia’s surprise would be as genuine as those who intended to view the reveal. I never occupied myself with thoughts of who might attend because I wouldn’t stick around for the final curtain. My mind strayed to the early days of my art career when I’d decorated walls around Auckland city like a criminal. Early morning commuters admired my handiwork, pondering my identity and entertained by media speculation. I loved the freedom of those works best, their transient beauty fragile at the behest of the elements. It didn’t matter that others defaced them because I never returned to view their fading colours. They remained etched in my memory forever, a visual expression of my torturous t
