Controversial NZ art ferns finally find home at $1m cost to the ratepayer
The city’s most controversial and expensive hidden art work is to be brought out of a shed and displayed a decade after they were funded. Read where and how much the installation bill is.
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THE city’s most controversial and expensive hidden art work – the New Zealand-style silver ferns – are to be brought out of a shed and displayed a decade after they were funded.
But the Urban Oasis Art, which cost the public $411,000 to create, will now require more money to install and maintain with at least $500,000 of ratepayer money required.
The total bill will be almost $1 million to plant the installation at a new location – the city’s regional botanical gardens at Benowa.
Costings obtained by the Bulletin are set to divide councillors who at a transport meeting on Tuesday will vote on the fate of the ferns, generally considered one of the Coast’s most embarrassing art installation after the Yatala M1 lights. The Yatala lights spell Gold Coast - but that phrase is not visible to passing motorists.
The Friends of the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens group are upset they have not been consulted about the proposal, while Mayor Tom Tate says the controversial ferns will not be installed if they are not wanted.
“We are reusing (the artwork) so the question is, we have a $400,000 artwork, you keep it in a dark room like Raiders of the Lost Ark, or do we bring it out,” he said.
“When it comes to council I will ask questions (about the value) and council will decide.
“If the decision is to do nothing, I think that’s a waste of $400,000.
“I will ask if (botanical gardens group) has been consulted what but if they don’t want it, then don’t put it there.”
Former councillor Dawn Crichlow during the last debate on the ferns told the Bulletin: “I was concerned from day one. It’s a New Zealand emblem from an artist in Cork in Ireland. It was short-listed by the arts committee – they were the ones who chose the art installation, the lights at Yatala.”
The ferns were originally to be placed at the intersection of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Ave in Surfers Paradise.
The art was part of “landscaping enhancements” for Stage 1 of light rail. The original site was ruled out due to the location of underground services.
Other key Surfers Paradise beach locations were investigated but rejected due to sea spray likely to cause rust, and testing which showed the amount of wind noise from each leaf.
Officers are now recommending the main entrance to the suburban Botanical Gardens.
But there are legal considerations because the initial agreement with Irish artist Alex Pentek was for his artwork to be located in the city’s tourism heart.
Councillors will be asked to endorse a capital cost for “investigation and design” of $500,000 and an annual maintenance expenditure of $41,000.
Officers in their report said the advantage of placing the ferns at the entrance would be improving the public visibility of the Gardens for commuters from Ashmore Road.
But it could create a collision which would be avoided if a traffic barrier was erected.
“This would require the existing traffic island to be demolished and replaced with a concrete barrier constructed around the two central fern structures,” officers said.
“The traffic island could either be infilled with concrete or converted to a raised planter box garden bed. This would result in additional project costs.”
Surfers Paradise-based councillor Darren Taylor said he had triggered the updated report after considering new artwork for the tourism heart. He was not elected when the art was funded.
“I went out to find out more about them. They had basically just been sitting in a warehouse,” he said.
“We then started to look at best places for those ferns to be. My understanding is the report is talking about (at the gardens). We looked at Surfers, we looked at opportunities at Main Beach.
“It’s an asset we’ve spent a bit of money on and we should be using it. For me, it’s about putting it in the right spot.”
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