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Council not hooked on Games’ fish offerLatrobe City has joined the growing list of councils across Victoria declining the State Government's invitation to ‘adopt’ one of the fish used on the Yarra as part of the ceremonial celebrations for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. By Latrobe City Council - 20th April 2006 - Back to News Latrobe City’s chief executive officer, Paul Buckley, said while the offer for local councils to express interest in adopting a fish had in the first instance sounded attractive; closer scrutiny revealed it was not such a good idea.
"The government’s offer to make these display fish available for councils to ‘adopt’ was no doubt well intentioned, and occurred at a time when we were all inspired by the light and water show that featured on the Yarra during the Games. However, the practicality of the prolonged use of these display pieces was not discussed at that stage. Councils across the state have now been provided with the details of what would be required to display one of the fish in their own municipality, and upon analysing the offer, we now unfortunately believe it is not in the best interests of our community," Mr Buckley said.
"As part of the ceremonial celebration of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games the series of 71 display pieces were created in the likeness of fish found in waters in various parts of the Commonwealth. However, these were never intended to be exhibited in the longer term and are not practical as sustainable sculpture.
"Created from a variety of materials, the fish were designed essentially as short-term stage props. At the completion of the Games it was intended that the fish sculptures would not be retained and that the components would be recycled as part of the Commonwealth Games Environmental program.
"While in the aftermath of the Games, it was suggested that these display fish could be given a new lease of life as art pieces; when the practicalities of this idea were scrutinised, lots of problems were realised. Although they had only been on display for approximately six weeks, significant wear and tear due to exposure to the weather has already been noted. Because they were never intended as sculptures that the public could access, finger and head traps exist for small children and there are sharp edges that would prove dangerous.
"As part of the river festival on the Yarra, the display pieces featured water and lighting effects. However, the offer to councils does not include the mechanisms which delivered the water and lighting effects, or the pontoon the display pieces were erected on. Reinstating them as ‘floating pieces of art’ would require considerable spending which would have to be met by our community," Mr Buckley explained.
"The only appropriate location for the fish would have to be an indoors location with suitable buffers to prevent public interaction with the display piece. There would also be significant costs in the ongoing maintenance of the piece. Reluctantly we’ve reached the conclusion that the cost to our ratepayers outweighs any benefit that may be derived as a piece of public art and as a consequence council has now declined the government’s offer. This has to be the fish Latrobe rejects," Mr Buckley added.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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