‘Abhorrent’ pigeon sculpture costing thousands put up outside shopping centre
The two-metre stainless steel structure costs more than £9,000.
A controversial statue of a giant pigeon has just been erected in an Australian city.
The two-metre stainless steel structure which cost £9,417 ($174,000 AUD) to build was placed outside the Rundle Mall in Adelaide on Friday.
The city’s Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said she hoped it would attract visitors to the area, 7 News reported.
She said: ‘It’s a great piece by Paul Sloan (local artist) and I’m really thrilled that we could unveil it at a time when we’re asking ex-Adelaidians to flock home.’
Verschoor added: ‘This exciting piece of public art will build on the existing legacy of public art across the city and will add to Adelaide’s reputation as a place of culture, creativity and innovation.
‘I think it will be a piece of artwork that will attract a lot of opinions.
‘I really look forward to people’s reaction to it.’
Not everyone shares the mayor’s enthusiasm with the new bird statue titled ‘Pigeon’.
A local resident described the structure as ‘abhorrent’ and another added ‘as if 2020 wasn’t bad enough’ when they saw it.
But the creator of the piece Sloan is standing by his creation and said his aim was to promote the ‘humble pigeon’.
He said: ‘They are the quiet witnesses of our day-to-day activities in the city, our observers from day through to night.’
‘Pigeon’ is the second animal-inspired statue outside Rundle Mall, with the shopping centre also home to four bronze pigs.
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