Public art lightning rod 'blue blob' turns one

It's blue, it's blobby and it's controversial, but the Cast in Blue sculpture in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier has made it to its first birthday relatively unscathed.

Cast in Blue, or "blue blob" as it has come to be called, was unveiled at a ceremony in July last year with the project costing a total of $136,000.

The sculpture's design, aimed at paying homage to the region's ancient megafauna, as well as its cost to ratepayers, proved immediately divisive in the local community and further afield.

With some locals having come around to the new resident the city held an event to mark the one-year anniversary.

Ashleigh Whatling, director of Mount Gambier's Riddle Arts and Cultural Centre, said the sculpture had had "such a full and busy life in just one year".

To celebrate, kindy kids made "him" a special hat.

"This kindy does lots of exercises thinking about his history, what he eats, where he's come from, what he means for Mount Gambier and they approached us because their class had been making a hat," Ms Whatling said.

"[The kindy] asked if we would consider throwing a first birthday party for him and we, of course, agreed because it's too adorable not to."

The enduring controversy has also sparked debate around the purpose and future of public art in regional towns.

"Some people have grown to like the work, some people will never like the work, and I think that's what good art does, inspire people to have different opinions," Ms Whatling said.

"[People are] allowed to hate it, that's okay.

"Just remember that there are plenty of people who love it, and we have people all day, every day coming by to admire him, to get a photo with him, to rub his belly."

Mount Gambier local and interim chair of the district's ratepayers association Frank Wilcox was personally opposed to both the design and cost of the sculpture.

While he accepted Cast in Blue was there to stay, he said it looked out of place.

"A lot of money was spent putting something in that there appeared to be a lot of community angst about," he said.

"Now we've got it, let's embrace it and let's use it to bring more visitors to the city.

"But it just looks wrong where it is. It looks lost."

Rob Michalski was also not a fan of the expenditure on Cast in Blue when there were people "doing it tough", like those experiencing homelessness in the region.

"I think they could have spent the money more wisely," he said.

"When I drive past it I shake my head every time and think it's expensive."

Backlash amusing but 'harsh' at times

Jason Waterhouse, whose company physically created Cast in Blue in collaboration with its designers, Huna Studio, said it was like making a "great big 3D jigsaw puzzle".

As the director of a firm which helped create public art around Australia, Mr Waterhouse was no stranger to the initial backlash such installations sometimes receive.

However, he said some of it had taken him aback given the playful intent of Cast in Blue.

"From the moment it was released, the kids loved it. It's created a really fun point for the community and the wider tourist community to come and take a selfie and all that," he said.

"I thought, at times, especially when it came from a political angle, that the negative publicity was pretty harsh.

"I'm a little bit saddened by the negativity around the expenditure and the 'waste' around this public artwork.

"I think what's not taken into account is how incredibly important it is for a community to have cultural and vibrant assets and activities for the greater public."

This included "misleading" criticism about the paint finish which was badly damaged by the industrial-strength glue used during the infamous googly eye vandalism.

"If they [the googly eyes] were just stuck on as a playful joke with blue tack it would have been a very different thing," Mr Waterhouse said.

"What could have been a humorous joke … became a fairly malicious point of damage."

Ultimately though, he said public art was about "creating dialogue", both good and bad.

"The response to this piece was fantastic because so many people started thinking about, 'well, what are our public spaces? How do we interact with them?'" he said.

"I think that dialogue is always super important.

"I think we take for granted just how important those creative elements in our community are: beautiful spaces, murals, parks, public artwork, [they] all create an incredible vibrancy.

"And I think, in the long term, the cost benefits for having a more vibrant community, and something that creates attention, is actually far greater than other things that could be spent on."