Local council slams $500,000 art installation: ‘Visual atrocity’

Calls to remove a controversial artwork, described by residents as a “visual abomination”, have been silenced after the city’s mayor issued a scathing defence.

The installation, titled ‘Illawarra Placed Landscape’, better known to locals as ‘palm tree on a pole’, was created by New Zealand artist Mike Hewson.

The controversial work is a permanent public asset located near the Crown Street Mall in Wollongong, a coastal city about 90km south of Sydney.

The project, estimated to cost $500,000 from concept to completion, was commissioned by Wollongong City Council in 2015 and installed in 2017.

The centrepiece of the 230-metre-high installation is the infamous 17-metre-high ‘palm tree pole’: a living uprooted palm tree hanging from a telegraph pole.

The divisive artwork is the subject of a heated debate in the council.

Outgoing councillor Dom Figliomeni introduced a motion in July this year calling for the palm tree to be removed ‘as soon as possible’.

“I’m going to get my bulletproof vest first,” Councilman Figliomeni said as he introduced the motion.

The controversial work (pictured) is a permanent public asset located near the Crown Street Mall in Wollongong, a coastal city about 90km south of Sydney

On New Year’s Day 2022, the precious installation survived an arson attack when a burning firework was thrown at its base, engulfing the artwork in flames (photo)

Cr Figliomeni said it would cost the council an estimated $1 million to remove the palm tree and surrounding sandstone blocks.

It costs $35,000 a year to maintain the work, including renting a special platform to reach the tree, maintaining the irrigation system and technical certifications.

“I appreciate that there will be passionate debate as a result, but I believe in the long term there will be real benefits if the council braces itself for the decision to decommission the site,” said Councillor Figliomeni.

But former Mayor Gordon Bradbery reacted strongly to the plans to remove the palm tree, saying $35,000 for maintenance was not unusual compared to what the council normally spends on art.

“There’s our art gallery, where I think we spent about $90,000 restoring a piece of art,” he told the meeting.

“You’re talking about $35,000 for outdoor art. You don’t know anything about art.”

The motion to remove the palm tree on a pole was defeated, with only councillor Figliomeni and former rugby league star John Dorahy voting in favour.

The installation titled ‘Illawarra Placed Landscape’ or better known to locals as ‘palm tree up a pole’ was created by New Zealand artist Mike Hewson (the work is pictured)

The artwork also received mixed reactions on social media.

‘Some councils spend money on footpaths. Others go bankrupt or build stupid swimming pools. Still others will declare a tree a criminal and hang it in the town square,’ wrote one person in a Reddit thread.

“Is this a joke about Australia where they stood upside down and had to tie the tree to a pole to stop it falling into the sky?” joked another.

‘As ugly as this art installation is, I still think it’s amazing. That’s purely because the local government spent so much money on this visual abomination, that it’s now also a really cool art installation about how local governments should spend their money,’ said a third.

“The amount of vegetation this tree has grown over the years justifies why it was planted there in the first place,” said a fourth.

On New Year’s Day 2022, the palm tree survived an arson attack, in which a detonated firecracker bomb was thrown at the base of the tree, causing the artwork to go up in flames.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Wollongong City Council for comment.