Who says art doesn’t pay?

AFTER the controversial lighthouse sculpture was dismantled, all of the birds taken from it have been sold. Here's how much council raked in.

The Lighthouse sculpture at Byron Bay, dubbed the 'disco dong' by some, will be torn down. Picture: Christopher Soulsby/Byron Shire Council

ALL of the metallic birds from Byron Bay's dismantled lighthouse sculpture have been sold.

A report detailing the outcome of the sale, which will go before the council's ordinary meeting later this month, is yet to be made public.

Byron Shire councillor Michael Lyon said the sale of aluminium birds to the public had brought in gross proceeds in the realm of $63,000.

The council spent $55,000 on the sculpture, before resolving to dismantle it following extensive public scrutiny comparing the artist's impression of what was meant to be a nod to Byron's real lighthouse with the end result, which some dubbed the "disco dong".

Cr Lyon said some of the funds would go towards staffing the sale of the birds, and the leftover cash would "end up being closer to $30,000".

"I think it's great that we were actually able to recoup some money," he said.

"We took a punt for the public art world.

"I think we learnt a lot of lessons.

"We learnt how not to do public art."

Cr Lyon said the process, in which there was significant "strength of feeling in the community", was "a very interesting exercise".

"Obviously we didn't do it for the controversy but it went worldwide," he said.

Despite the scathing reaction the sculpture received from parts of the community, Cr Lyon said it was "fascinating" so many in the community "wanted a piece of that history".

After the birds were released in public sales, they popped up on Christmas trees, and at least one was turned into a bottle opener.
Cr Lyon said his mother, who lives in Tasmania, had bought two of the birds.

On social media, Cr Lyon said the council had become "the corporate raiders of the public art world when the infamous sculpture was dismantled".

The sale of the birds - which went for $20 each - began on December 2 after the August, 2019 decision to decommission the sculpture.

Remaining funds from that sale is expected to go to initiatives to reduce homelessness in the Byron Shire.

"I think that's a good outcome and obviously there's more work to be done on that," Cr Lyon said.

Originally published as