PRESS

WHATEVER ELSE IT MIIGHT BE IT WILL BE QUITE BIG

Video Link ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV2Gz6ONEyc

In short: Burnie's proposed 'Welcome Gesture' sculpture has sparked a public outcry, with some residents claiming they were not properly consulted — and some likening the planned artwork to a row of McDonald's French fries or "fish fingers sticking out of the ground".

• Burnie's mayor says the Tasmanian government had offered the funding "specifically for Burnie to improve the gateway to the city" and the money must be used for that purpose, adding "we cannot use that money to feed the homeless or anything else".
• What's next? Construction is due to start on the sculpture within the next week.

A regional community's $1.25 million "French fry monstrosity" sculpture, destined to grace a Tasmanian highway mere metres from the local Golden Arches, has many residents spitting chips.

The pataway / Burnie Gateway Project, funded by the Tasmanian government, is meant to "beautify and improve the visual aesthetic" of the entrance to Burnie.

The 'Welcome Gesture' sculpture, designed by artists Geoff Farquhar-Still and David Hamilton, is comprised of a series of giant vertical yellow poles, which some say is reminiscent of Melbourne's infamous 'cheese stick' which lines the Melbourne International Gateway.

But Burnie locals have called their version a waste of money and question its proximity to McDonald's, with the fast food giant's Burnie outlet less than 200 metres away from the proposed site. 

A visualisation of the proposed 'Welcome Gesture' sculpture.(Supplied: Burnie City Council)

'Fish fingers sticking out of the ground'

Burnie resident Julie Phillips called it "a total waste of taxpayers' money".

"It's shocking," she said.

"Can't they come up with something a bit better than a French fry?"

Rudy Visser said the money could be better spent.

"I don't understand [the design] … it's not my thing, I'd rather see beautiful murals somewhere," he said.

"They do look like fish fingers sticking out of the ground."

"I think it's quite impressive, and it'd be something different, a bit unusual," Robert said

"It's awfully big, it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and it does look like French fries," Dorothy said.

Dorothy Groenewege says "it will probably look really good, really eye-catching, once it's there".(ABC News: Bec Pridham)

"Considering it's right next to McDonald's, it seems like it's sort of advertising for them.

"I don't really want to be too critical of it, because it will probably look really good, really eye-catching, once it's there."

Other residents lamented that the sculpture didn't reflect Burnie's character.

"I think it looks absolutely horrible … it doesn't line up with what Burnie, the city by the sea, what it actually means," said local resident Emma.

Council not budging on calls to reconsider

Following community workshops, residents had two weeks from June last year to vote between two works — Farquhar-Still and Hamilton's 'Welcome Gesture' and Futago's 'Emu Island'.

But only a fraction of the city's 20,000 people cast their ballot, 152 in favour of 'Welcome Gesture', 76 for 'Emu Island', and 54 voting for neither.

The council approved the design in November, and since then, the Department of State Growth has approved the design, contracts have been entered, and construction is due to start within the next week.

Burnie Mayor Teeny Brumby lauded the gateway as set to be "poles apart from what we've ever had" and "the next exciting chapter in Burnie's story".

"It will stand out. It will be yellow and bold and yes, subjective. But it will be ours. It will be part of Burnie."

But since the approval, almost 1,500 people signed a petition requesting the Burnie City Council reopen discussions about the project, claiming they were not properly consulted.

In its February meeting, the council resolved that despite the community concerns, it could not reopen discussions.

"We discussed in length the possibility of putting a hold on the current process to ask [the contractor] to enter into discussion with the artist in an attempt to hear the community's wishes,"  Mayor Teeny Brumby said in a statement.

"After lengthy debate and cognisant of contractual obligations, council was not of mind to pursue this avenue.

"What is clear, is that we must improve community consultation moving forward."

Responding to criticism that it was a "waste of money", Alderman Brumby said the Tasmanian government had offered the funding "specifically for Burnie to improve the gateway to the city".

She said the council would be liable for about $500,000 in costs incurred if it moved away from the grant's deed.

"We cannot use that money to feed the homeless or anything else, the deed is specifically for this," Alderman Brumby said.

Before the February meeting's ruling, she floated the idea of changing the sculpture's colour to blue, putting it to people on her Facebook page.

More than 1,000 people backed the blue, while two dozen voted to stick to yellow.

An invitation into Burnie, celebrating landscape

In a video describing the concept, artist Geoff Farquhar-Still said the installation was meant to talk to Burnie's "avenues of trees, remnants of industry, huge piles of timber, huge piles of woodchips, and the massive ocean, and the sunlight pouring through".

Video Link ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV2Gz6ONEyc

The shape is designed to reflect the sweep of a human hand, inviting people into the city.

"What we were hoping to make was a cinematic experience, as you pass through all of the huge features and vast landscape as you come into Burnie, that you enter the site and the sculpture itself is set against that backdrop," Farquhar-Still said.

"The intent is that we don't just leave a gateway for Burnie, just a sculpture dropped in the spot, that we deliver a new place, a new landscape for Burnie, a new path, and somewhere for the community to come and join and share."

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 IN THE MERCURY

The Burnie City Council has been forced to reject a petition with 1500 signatures to re-open the consultation process for the Gateway Project due to “financial and contractual reasons”.

This is despite many Burnie councillors, including Mayor Teeny Brumby, wanting to re-open the consultation process.

The council had decided last year to go ahead and build a sculpture called Welcome Gesture, designed by artists David Hamilton and Geoff Farquhar-Still, on a traffic median strip at the intersection of the Bass Highway and Wilson Street after an initial consultation process.

The design has attracted criticism from the public, with Burnie councillor Trent Aitken saying that he “absolutely hates the cheese stick things”.

A petition with 1500 signatures called for the consultation process of the Burnie Gateway Project to be reopened was lodged with the council by resident Anne Marie Ryan.

Mayor of Burnie Council Teeny Brumby. Picture: supplied

However, Burnie City Council general manager Simon Overland said consultation could not reopen as the project had progressed significantly.

“The Department of State Growth has approved the design, contracts have been entered and work is due to start within the next week on construction,” Mr Overland said.

“Delaying the project to enable further consultation would expose the Council to significant financial penalty.”

Mr Overland said the gateway project had received a state government grant.

“A grant deed has been executed, and if Burnie City Council were to depart from its terms, then it becomes liable for costs incurred to date, which are in the order of $500,000.

“These costs have not been budgeted for by Burnie City Council.”

At Tuesday’s Burnie City Council meeting, Ms Brumby implored her colleagues to move an amendment to reopen negotiations over the gateway project with design firm GHD and the artists. However, no amendment was moved at the meeting.

“I think we are thwarting this opportunity to not at the very least have a conversation … if we don’t have that on the table, it is over – it is a yellow gateway,” Ms Brumby said.

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“I am bitterly disappointed the proposed amendment did not stand this evening.

“I think it would have reflected the will of our people who made a very clear message on my own social media page … 2000 people would have loved to have the colour blue introduced.

“I will not move [an amendment] because I do not wish to vacate the chair.”