Muralist Zion Vaega celebrates unexpected, thriving career

A man who lost his hotel job during the Covid pandemic has turned his artistic hobby into a flourishing career.

A young Brisbane man who lost his job in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic while working on a hotel’s reception desk, has transformed a hobby he developed from boredom into a thriving career with his works becoming recognised across Brisbane city.

Zion Vaega, known by his artist name KnivesXOnly, is a talented muralist who decorates walls across the state with brilliant art advertising Qantas, Olympic athletes, hit movies, new music, alcoholic beverages and more.

After being made redundant the 35-year-old said he was unsure of what to do with himself and “hibernated inside and picked up a brush”.

“My dad is an artist so I learnt from him at a young age,” Mr Vaega said.

“I began scribbling sketches together and then a friend asked if I wanted to help him with a mural project.”

Mr Vaega said he found it easy to “lock in” and get lost in art before realising he had a natural knack for it.

Following this revelation Mr Vaega sought out Apparition media who book artists to decorate walls with artistic advertisements across the country.

Zion Vaega, Brisbane muralist, who has painted major Qantas Olympics ads, movie posters and albums. Photo Steve Pohlner

“There are so many tricks of the trade you wouldn’t know until you work with people who have different styles,” Mr Vaega said.

“When going over a wall we have to buff off all of the old paint and then cover the wall with a light grey, if you use white it reflects harshly on your eyes.”

Mr Vaega said he had painted more than 60 walls in the past year.

“My favourite piece was a Jurassic Park movie advertisement I painted in Melbourne, we decorated an entire laneway with dinosaurs,” Mr Vaega said.

“This summer I’m looking forward to multiple soft drinks and alcoholic mixer adverts, they’re always fun for summer.”

An exciting personal project Mr Vaega is working on is a movie character mural masterpiece at Five Star Cinemas in Brisbane City that he anticipates will take him several years to complete.

“I’ve been painting an outdoor interactive art gallery for about a year now, it’s a 300 metre alley way on Elizabeth Street that I’m turning into a ‘Where’s Wally’ inspired outdoor escape room,” Mr Vaega said.

“It will be a free outdoor art gallery for everyone to enjoy, it is for big movie fans like myself, who can use their phone to work their way through the interactive wall, it features characters and storylines from some of the most iconic movies.”