Sculpture sheltered early

ALFRED Deakin Place’s temporary but controversial art installation, Monument #32 Helter Shelter has been removed from the outdoor area ahead of schedule.

The provocative political sculpture by Callum Morton, which resembles the head of President of the United States, Donald Trump, was vandalised while placed adjacent to the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

A work that generates discussion, is open to interpretation, and has attracted worldwide attention, AGB director, Louise Tegart said the gallery achieved what it wanted to in the time since Helter Shelter arrived in January.

“We were very pleased to see the large number of people visiting Alfred Deakin Place over the past six weeks to see and photograph the installation, to sit in it and interact with it,” she said.

“The installation was picked up by national and international media. It was the picture of the week in The Guardian and images of it were distributed into the United States via Reuters.”

Many viewers made special trips to Ballarat to see the sculpture with varying opinions, but some responses were not so positive.

“The damage which has occurred to the artwork itself goes beyond the reasonable range of reactions we might expect from this kind of work,” Ms Tegart said.

“Engaging people with art is part of the history and role of the gallery and we will continue to seek opportunities to do this in our public spaces.”

When the work was previously on show on the Gold Coast and in Sydney, it was not damaged.