Residents of Mount Gambier are outraged after their council approved $136,250 to fund a controversial public artwork which some said looks like a “huge chewed piece of blue bubblegum”.
The council of South Australia‘s second largest city on Tuesday night voted five to two in favour of funding the megafauna-inspired design by Huna Studio for the Beacon Art Project, which had an initial budget of $80,000, despite complaints from locals beforehand.
Mount Gambier residents reacted to the news of the approval with anger, with one resident telling Noticer News he was furious that the council had ignored public sentiment.
“I cant believe it. The public are all against this horrible statue and yet the council ignores us and just votes to install this anyway. Democracy seems to be fake. This has happened before and is happening more frequently,” the irate local said.
“Why can’t we build anything beautiful anymore? This is horrendous and a real insult to the natural and traditional beauty of our town. Heads should roll. This is an insult during a time of rising cost of living. Our council no longer functions properly. They are elitist swine.
“Such a disgusting decision from the council. I will be looking into who voted for it and make sure they get more scrutiny in the future. Will not be forgetting these names. There is no way the public is going to let this statue happen.”
Another took exception to the design, calling it ugly and saying it would not fit in with the character of Mount Gambier.
“This is bad art. I’ve studied art all my life and I even like some modern art. But this is bad art, very lazy, plastic looking and it’s an insult to the traditional architecture of our town,” he told Noticer News.
“The council receptionist told me that the public were overwhelmingly against it and had been frequently making contact to express their displeasure, so wouldn’t it be safe to assume the council would vote ‘no’? Apparently not. They don’t care what the public think.”
Others reacted similarly on social media, calling the artwork a “waste of taxpayers’ money” and “bloody ridiculous”.
“Once again, council does what it wants with without any accountability,” one said.
“In times of financial hardship with so many struggling to pay rent, put food on the table and pay bills including the ridiculous rise in council rates. All those that voted for this should be ashamed at the amount of unnecessary spending they continue to do,” wrote another on Facebook.
“Obviously none of them have social media and read how angry people are with them. Shame Shame Shame.”
“So the council who act for the people, don’t listen to the people. Dictatorship at its finest,” said a third.
Ahead of the vote the council described the Huna Studio proposal has having the potential to be “celebrated and criticised” but that they hoped it would become a “local icon”, and said it expected the artwork to become a tourism drawcard, a local landmark and meeting place, and to raise the profile of the city as a cultural centre.
Huna Studio described the artwork as an “imagined megafauna, inspired by some of the incredible paleontological discoveries in the sinkholes and caves of the region”.
“Emerging from the depths of one of Mount Gambier’s many caves or sinkholes, our invented creature embarks on a journey through the city streets. Inspired by prehistoric marsupials, the form embodies the essence of the limestone coast’s natural ecology, paying homage to the region’s rich biodiversity,” Huna wrote.
“The piece will encourage interaction and engagement, inspiring visitors and locals to lean in and learn more about the creature and its habitat, fostering a sense of wonder and curiosity, inviting the community to embark on a journey of exploration and discovery.”
Header image credit: City of Mount Gambier/Huna Studio
