By XAVIER SMERDON
THE man behind a now infamous piece of public art that cost Wyndham ratepayer’s $100,000 in exchange for nothing, has spoken out for the first time.
Alexander Knox was given approval by Wyndham Council to create his artwork, Escape the Golden Sun, after it was the first piece ever chosen unanimously by the council’s independent committee of 13 people.
But at a public meeting in August all but three councillors chose to ditch the artwork, despite already spending $106,000 on the project.
The total cost of the enormous sculpture, which would have been located near the Western Interchange on the Princes Highway, on the Geelong side of Wyndham, would have been $583,000.
It was supposed to represent the golden sun moth, a highly endangered creature that is found in Wyndham, and have elements paying tribute to Wyndham’s aviation history and the fire that has helped carve the landscape.
Mr Knox told Star that he was disappointed that the council did not go ahead with the artwork.
“It is a great shame the work was not commissioned I think,” Mr Knox said.
“On a personal level it was a little sad to be awarded the commission after so much time only for it to be voted down.
“Councils need to be brave. In the end people respect a council that has a plan and follows it through.”
Mr Knox, who has previously created major pieces for the new Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and AAMI Park, said Escape the Golden Sun would have been an eye catching monolith.
“I tried to strike the right balance between abstraction and a narrative on the sites’ past and its future,” he said.
“The work was designed to morph visually as cars drove towards and then by it.
“It is amazing the power of public sculpture, done right, to effect not just how others see an area but how its own denizens think about themselves and where they live.”
