A local council has come under fire for commissioning a series of art installations reportedly costing an exorbitant $22 million, including an eight-metre-high statue of a kangaroo sitting on a chair.
Five separate art projects created by New Zealand Maori artist Michael Parekowhai are expected to be unveiled at Southbank in Melbourne’s inner city by late 2027.
Melbourne City Council had initially commissioned the first art installation of a kangaroo sitting on a chair and wrapped in coloured lights in 2018 for $2 million.
But the project is now understood to have expanded to include four more art installations on Dodds Street, increasing the bill to more than $20 million, according to council documents seen by The age.
The council has described the art installations as “the most transformative public art commission ever undertaken in Australasia”.
But outspoken commentator Prue MacSween branded it a “joke” and said councillors were “woke bastards”.
“They are just delusional,” he told the Daily Mail Australia.
“How can anyone believe that an eight-metre-tall kangaroo was a ‘transformative’ piece of public art? It’s astonishing that anyone could think this is inspiring or reflective of what Melbourne represents.”
Melbourne City Council has come under fire for commissioning a series of art installations reportedly costing $22 million, including an eight-metre-high statue of a kangaroo sitting on a chair (the image is an artist’s impression).
Outspoken commentator Prue MacSween (pictured) said the kangaroo statue was a “joke”.
MacSween questioned how using the money for art installations benefited the people of Melbourne, as well as the fact that an Australian artist had not been chosen.
“And when you look at Melbourne and how it’s lost so much during COVID, businesses have gone bankrupt and cultural aspects have been lost and never recovered,” he continued.
“Nobody wants to go there, it’s just a shadow of what it was and the fact that local councils are wasting this kind of money instead of trying to revitalise the city is mind-boggling.”
The kangaroo statue is titled Yesterday and Mr Parekowhai is creating four other projects called Tomorrow, Seal and Pleiades, Knowledge and Intention.
Another bronze statue will be built tomorrow at a cost of $4.3 million: Seal and Pleiades, a 30-meter light installation with a bronze seal balancing the Pleiades star constellation on its nose and priced at $2 million.
The Knowledge artwork is a 50m neon rainbow worth $2.8 million, and Intention is a 5m neon sign of the Greek goddess Themis, reportedly costing $2.6 million.
Another $2.9m for storage and installation and $5.4m for landscaping are also on the council’s bill, The Age reported.
Melbourne City Council has rejected the total cost of $22 million, but has not specified the price.
The kangaroo statue is known to have been commissioned with additional funds from public and private contributors.
The council expects that for every $1 million of public artwork commissioned, $4 million in tourism will be generated.
Five separate art projects created by New Zealand Maori artist Michael Parekowhai are expected to be unveiled at Southbank in Melbourne’s inner city by late 2027.
“Public art boosts visitation to Melbourne and strengthens our cultural fabric, which is good for business and our economy,” a council spokesman said.
‘The Southbank public art commission is one of the largest public art projects, and we will be delivering it in the heart of Melbourne’s growing arts precinct by late 2027.
‘We recently opened the new linear park for the local community, offering residents, workers, students and visitors a fantastic new place to gather.’
Melbourne city councillor and mayoral candidate Jamal Hakim defended art installations at 3AW’s Tony Jones on Wednesday morning, claiming philanthropists were part-funding the projects.
“If you think about public art installations around the world, people come from all over to see that work and this is no different,” he said.
“That’s why public art is something people want to see and enjoy, that’s why it becomes a global tourist attraction.”
Jones noted that a kangaroo statue could not compare to other global tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty.
“I am not at liberty to speak about the works themselves due to contractual obligations,” Hakim said.
‘This work has been commissioned by a number of councils together with philanthropists and will be something that people around the world will talk about and will no doubt come to see.’