Melbs Council Vows To Clean Art Off Anti-Terror Bollards Because Fear > Fun

Look, we’re all for some brutalist architecture and imagery here, but at a certain point council regulations are less about maintaining the rule of law and more about general bastardry.

The grey concrete anti-terror bollards that have popped up across Melbourne public spaces in recent weeks serve a purpose in the sense that they go some way to preventing any potential vehicle-based attacks in areas that attract a large amount of pedestrians. But there’s no denying they fact that they’re ugly as fuck.
Melburnians, being the insufferably enterprising sorts that they are, have pushed back by adoring the blocks in brightly coloured covers, street-style stencil work, and in one case an agonisingly crafted fine arts gag.
Peak hipster? Probably. But a laugh is a laugh.
Regardless, the City of Melbourne council is none too pleased with the spontaneous art, stating that it would remove anything painted onto the bollards.
A spokesperson for the council stated that it was the painted art, not the fabric covers, that could potentially be stripped from the bollards.

“If any of the bollards are painted, we will be able to remove the paint without incurring significant costs.”


The bollards, as it turns out, aren’t owned by the council; they’re rentals, somehow. A company somewhere rents out giant blocks of solid concrete.

Artists that painted on the bollards on Saturday night were stopped by police who reportedly told the artists to expect a summons for a graffiti misdemeanour.
The council has not stated whether or not it intends to remove the painted works immediately, or whether it will do it once the bollards make way for more permanent structures like planter boxes or public seating.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle have both stated support for the spontaneous display of brightness. But the council’s assertion that street art – already such an engrained part of Melbourne’s culture – is out of the question significantly mixes the messages.
For the time being the painted and pasted-up art remains on the bollards in the Bourke St Mall.
The Vic Government installed the 200 bollards across the city as part of a $10million boost to public security in the fall out of the Bourke St rampage, and vehicle-related terror incidents across the globe.

Source: ABC News.
Photos: Michael Dodge/Getty.

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