What happened to Melbourne’s love locks?

MORE than 20,000 love locks were removed from a city bridge last year by the council, but where are they now?

Katheryn Leopoldseder with some of the locks. Picture: Rob Leeson

WHEN thousands of people attached padlocks to a city bridge, they had no idea the locks would end up as art.

Copying a tradition from all over the world, people put the “love locks” on Southbank’s Evan Walker Bridge.

However, the 20,000 locks became a safety issue and the Melbourne City Council removed them last year.

Katheryn Leopoldseder has turned the locks into an artwork. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Instead of junking them, the council partnered with Craft Victoria to commission six artists to create artworks.

The works will be displayed at the Love Locks Exhibition at Melbourne Town Hall from August 8-20, and $10 lottery tickets will be sold giving the public a chance to own the creations.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the project was a world first because most other cities threw padlocks away.

“But we are sentimental souls here in Melbourne and that wasn’t going to be good enough for us,” he said.

“This romantic chapter in our city’s history will be captured forever in these unique works of art and the best bit is, the whole community has the opportunity to take one home.”

Proceeds from the lottery and from the sale of 100 limited edition heart-shaped mementos will go to the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

Contractors for Melbourne City Council remove the love locks last year. Picture: Jason Edwards

Council spokeswoman Kate Loughnan said that about 1000 locks have been removed the bridge since the mass removal operation in May 2015.

“City of Melbourne contractors continue to monitor the bridge on a regular basis and remove any padlocks that have accumulated,” she said.

Craft Victoria CEO Jane Scott said the Love Locks Project was transformative in the way it used creative up-cycling solutions.

“By allowing the public to take home part of the Love Lock legacy, this project goes way

beyond the parameters of just an event,” she said.

Participating artists were: Dr Anton Hasell, Katheryn Leopoldseder, Elise Sheehan, Kirsty Macafee, Dr Louiseann King and Kristian King

craft.org.au

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