- Etienne Constable was ordered to hide a boat parked at his home in Seaside.
- Authorities said he had to erect a six-foot fence or face a $100 fine.
- He chose a humorous act of malicious compliance with the help of a local artist.
A California owner who was ordered to hide his boat from the sight of his wealthy neighbors has hilariously trolled city officials with a malicious enforcement act.
Seaside resident Etienne Constable was told he needed to put up a cover to hide the boat or face a $100 fine in July 2023.
Municipal codes state that “large boats and campers, motor homes, recreational vehicles, utility trailers and vacation trailers” can only be parked in driveways if they are “protected on the side and front by a six-foot fence.” high”.
The owner agreed, but put his own ironic touch on it by painting a photorealistic mural of the ship on the front of the screen.
“I’m not a rule breaker, but I like to make a necessary political statement as well as a humorous and creative statement,” Constable said. KSBW.
A California owner who was ordered to hide his boat from the sight of his wealthy neighbors has hilariously trolled city officials with a malicious enforcement act.
Seaside resident Etienne Constable was told he needed to put up a cover to hide the boat or face a $100 fine, so he created this fun optical illusion.
“I’m not a rule breaker, but I like to make a necessary political statement as well as a humorous and creative statement,” Constable said.
Constable explained that he frequently uses his Might as Well boat to go fishing and has kept it parked in his driveway for four years before receiving any complaints.
“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’ and my first reaction was to leave a very, very unpleasant message at City Hall,” he added in an interview with the newspaper. Washington Post.
“And then I thought, well, I might as well build a screen… I’ll do what they want, but I won’t do it their way.”
Images of the artwork, taken by Constable’s neighbor Hanif Panni, soon went viral, much to Constable’s surprise.
“The reaction is much greater than we expected and we are both delighted,” he said.
Constable said erecting the fence cost him a few hundred dollars and he later paid Panni for his skills.
Panni, who has murals across the Central Coast, said he saw the painting as an opportunity to stoke debate about what constitutes art.
“I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces,” Panni said. “It engages people in a way that sometimes you don’t reach out and have conversations.”
The mural was painted by local artist Hanif Panni, an advocate for art in public spaces.
Constable explained that he frequently uses his Might As Well boat to go fishing and has kept it parked in his driveway for four years before receiving any complaints.
Since completing his mural, Panni has been inundated with requests from homeowners in similar positions.
Since then, the artist has been inundated with requests from other neighbors to paint similar murals on their properties.
Constable confirmed he hasn’t heard anything from Seaside officials, but assumes they are aware.
“It’s not that I’m hiding anything,” he added.
