A Queensland dad has gone viral after unveiling his mammoth kookaburra creation to the world. Artist and academic Dr Farvardin Daliri took to the Brisbane streets yesterday with the 750kg structure in tow, laughing and all.
His daughter Rafaan shared the spectacle to Twitter, in a post which has since amassed over 96k likes. And rightly so – look at the damn thing.
So my Dad made good use of his time in lockdown and built a huge laughing Kookaburra. pic.twitter.com/UGVC4dZsCL
— Rafaan Daliri-Ngametua (FHEA) (@RafaanDNgametua) May 26, 2020
Construction on the kookaburra began in Christmas, but the pandemic and subsequent isolation period led to Dr Daliri dedicating the majority of his time to the sculpture.
Speaking with Guardian Australia, Dr Daliri revealed that the giant bird was set to become the mascot for the Townsville Cultural Festival, which he, himself, founded.
“It’s a work of love,” Dr Daliri told the publication, speaking on the intent behind the beast of a ‘burra. “The festival we are having in Townsville, 25 years old, has ‘unity in diversity’ as its motto.”
“Native animals and birds, we relate to all of them in the same way,” he continued. “It is a point of transition – from ‘I’m a migrant’ to ‘I’ve arrived’. These totems make us feel like we’ve arrived.”
The creation stands at 4 metres tall, and boasts a horizontal span of 8.5 metres.
Although the Townsville Cultural Festival may be on hold – given the current climate – Mr Kookburra will no doubt have his moment.
“We want to have the last laugh over COVID-19 with the kookaburra,” he told ABC. “We’ll also have laughing workshops along the road so we can get everyone laughing around it and make them feel better.”
Dr Daliri for Prime Minister, I say.
