Greens want giant lizard on Northbourne Ave

How about a big middle finger pointing up wards and facing Sydney?

I guess they would model the fire breathing lizard on Hargreaves?

I assume that this fire breathing lizard will be at least as big as the big sheep at Goulburn? Canberra has long been absent the “big thing” that many other Aust cities so proudly display.

The apology plaque could be afixed to a giant trough.

Foskey (and others) could feast from it (or live in it), you could grow tulips in it for Floriade and drunks could piss in it on their way home on a Saturday night.

I’d like to see a brass plaque of foskey’s apology letter to the Canberra community, for bludging off our taxes in a govt funded house whilst being a $100k+ politician at the same time.

What about a giant replica of a stock-standard 1960s guvvie house with a replica stock-standard unwashed greenie that pops out of the front door every hour shouting “I shall not be moved!”

Thanks for the feedback (and for Kramer fixing the linky thingy – don’t know what I missed – thought I followed the tips above verbatim…).

I checked out ACT Procurement’s website – they have defeated the idea at the starting gate with their bureaucratic maze…as if just finding out about it from the Assembly’s website wasn’t enough of a trial…how your average garden-variety arty type is supposed to advance an idea is beyond me…

i rekkun they should commission tim wetherill (who did the ‘astronomer’ outside questacon) to construct the fire breathing lizard from bits of bulldozer that have obliterated the poor li’l thing’s native habitat over countless aeons (well, a few decades) of development…

[and i hope lizard king stanhope doesn’t do the whole jim morrison thing with the leather pants, which come off mid-show! lizards and trouser snakes are dire enemies…)

If the speed camera before Antill street doesn’t slow you down, then the fire breathing lizard will.

A giant statue.

Of a fucking lizard.

With no ears.

Words.Fail.Me!

Gunghalin Al, your idea is pretty cool, but Sammy has you beaten hands-down.

Vote 1: Fire Breathing Lizard Statue.

And clearly my first attempt of actually embedding a link was a dismal failure…

I think a giant lizard wouldn’t look that bad

Especially if they borrow the technology from those fire statues near Crown in Melbourne.

A fire-breathing lizard statue would be pretty cool.

Now I know a lot of people on RA are feeling rather disparagingly towards the idea of this entrance art piece. But it looks fairly certain it will go ahead, so we’d want to hope it was a good one. Not convinced about a lizard though – want to be a very big one for $1M!

But I had an idea last night on a design. Very rare thing that I (who can barely draw a straight line without a ruler) would have a bout of artistic inspiration, but…thought I might share it here and see what people think.

As the nation’s capital, we are the “meeting place” for all the States, and one enduring symbol that brings the states together is the Coat of Arms, which has the state flags, surrounded by a roo, emu and wattle. It’s a bit old-fashioned looking and in need of a little updating, but it’s a starting point.
Picture

So picture you are coming down Northbourne Avenue and at the intersection with Alinga Street, as you look towards City Hill you see a large sculpture piece that represents the Coat of Arms.

As you proceed southwards towards it, the single sculpture dissolves, and you realise that it is actually a number of pieces all mounted strategically on poles so that form that one point everything merges into the single entity.

So there are poles with the “Australia” banner, then each of the state emblems (maybe in order of their formation), the roo and the emu, at the southern end of Northbourne is the seven-pointed star, and right back on the edge of City Hill is the large backdrop of the wattle branches.

The symbolism would be that all the disparate colonies came together to form a nation, right here at this place called Canberra, which as we know means meeting place.

What do you think?

[Edit (Kramer) – fix dodgy link/html tag]

enough statutes of old men

As he unveils the statue, Stanhope’s doors of perception are flung wide open.

He yells to the crowd: “I am the Lizard King … and I can do anything!”

I like the distinctively local flavour the lizard brings to the artwork.

The lizard should have a roll of red tape in its hand for added effect…

So Deb would be in favour of roo shooting then?