By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
Rats and pigeons on Dandenong’s streets? Take them as acts of “guerilla kindness” from public artist Sayraphim Lothian.
Tomorrow, she’ll start perching the 16 ‘street pests’ in an alley and footpaths between car parks in Thomas and Walker streets.
Part of the fun of the urban safari is to find the animal figures, she said. “Some will stick out, others will be more hidden. You can walk the same street every day and not notice your surroundings. It prompts people into looking at what’s around them.”
To flesh out her wildlife, Lothian, of Eaglemont, used discarded exotic fabrics — materials from Africa and India to symbolise the region’s multiculturalism.
She encourages pedestrians to touch and play with her artwork. She dislikes the notion that public sculpture is too “sacred” to be touched, that works are subjected to the elements but aren’t allowed to be played upon by children.
She has little attachment to her work, though the wildlife will be secured to their posts. “As part of guerilla kindness, I leave interesting things out on the streets for people to find and take. I’m well prepared if they get souvenired.”
It should be pointed out that the animals are public art, commissioned by Greater Dandenong Council. They’re expected to inhabit the streets for six months.
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