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| Another example of Dunedin's mystery street art, the Bond St park bench. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery. |
Is it a work of art, a lovers' tiff, a protest, or just a
private joke?
Some Dunedin people seem to suspect the city's artistic
community, following the appearance of a blue seesaw cemented
over a city parking space at the weekend.
It followed the reported sighting of an "arty" male student
in his mid-20s, sauntering down Vogel St about midday on
Friday.
What stood out was what the young man was carrying - a large
blue seesaw.
"It's just not something you would see someone walking up the
street with," a reader told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
The seesaw's appearance in the Dunedin City Council's
Crawford St car park, cemented in place in an amateur way,
has baffled council staff, who admit they have "no idea" what
was behind its arrival.
However, readers yesterday reported the appearance of at
least two other recent examples - a park bench roughly
cemented in place on the edge of Bond St and a homemade slide
near the Dunedin Railway Station. Both appeared about a month
ago.
Freelance photographer Clive Copeman, of Dunedin, suspected
an underground artist was having some fun. He photographed
skateboarders making the most of the playground slide after
it appeared on a roundabout on the Thomas Burns St side of
the Dunedin Railway Station, about September 20.
The slide was the same colour as the seesaw and appeared
homemade, with rough edges to its welds, he said.
"I think it's just a kind of private joke [or] guerrilla art.
"Personally, I love it - I think it's brilliant."
The slide had been removed by the next day, but Mr Copeman
said he would like to see more of the creative work.
"I think we have got a very high standard of street art in
Dunedin... I wouldn't like to see him [the artist]
prosecuted, because it really adds to the city."
Last month, protest sacks were placed over the city's new
parking machines. However, a member of the group linked to
the stunt, Moray Pl gallery owner David McLeod, has denied
any knowledge of the latest installations.
It also followed the appearance of artistically-decorated
water-meter covers around the city in October and November
2006. Contacted at the time, the artist involved - who would
not be identified - said his work was public art without
permission.
Otago Polytechnic School of Art staff spoken to yesterday
said they knew nothing that could shed light on the mystery.
- chris.morris@odt.co.nz
