The Most Controversial Sculpture in Australia
This was the most controversial sculpture in Australian history. It was installed for only one week during the National Sculpture Festival in the capital, Canberra, during April of 1995. I happened by and had a tourist photo shot there. The sculpture, entitled "Liz and Phil Down by the Lake," was situated on a park bench in front of the Supreme Court Building facing the central lake in Canberra. It depicted a nude Queen Elizabeth and her spouse, Prince Phillip. The sculpture prompted many pages of commentary and letters to the editor in national newspapers. It was first vandalized (the Queen was beheaded, whether by an anti-sculpture contingent or an anti-Commonwealth contingent is unclear), and then protected by a former Sydney policeman who clothed the figures in Australian flag-bedecked sweatshirts. Eventually it prompted such controversy, and was a target of such vandalism, that the sculpture festival organizers de-installed it. As soon as possible, I am going to create links to news sources about this controversy.
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