A GIANT wooden penis that stood proudly in a Frankston front yard has been forced down under pressure from angry authorities. Frankston Council ordered the 170cm sculpture be removed after it gave some residents a major case of the willies. But its proud creators, IT specialist Brett O’Neill and mate Dean Janssen, insisted the wooden piece was a work of art and should not have been manhandled by the long arm of the law. "A lot of statues in people’s yards have penises, what’s wrong with this?" Mr O’Neill said.
Doesn’t everyone have a statue Of David in their garden?
The phallic feature was created by Mr O’Neill and Mr Janssen, who after a few beers, decided it would be a good idea to shape a tree stump at the front of Mr O’Neill’s home. Armed with a chainsaw, they created their masterpiece within four hours. Mr O’Neill said he even planned to eventually turn it into a fountain, with water cascading from the top into a rock pool and fish pond at the base. "It created a bit of attention - people were stopping out the front and winding down their windows to give us the thumbs up," he said. "Everyone thought it was a bit of fun."
| Except for the neighbors... |
But the humour was lost on Frankston’s council, which stepped in after receiving a "couple" of complaints. Mr O’Neill received a visit from a council official and a letter warning him he had three days to remove the work or face a $400 fine. "It has been brought to council’s attention that over recent days the trunk and base of a substantial tree . . . has been sculpted into a shape that has caused visual offence to passers-by," the letter said. Frankston Council rejected claims the sculpture was legitimate art. "It is not like it is a work that’s in a gallery, it is in a residential street," spokeswoman Donna Mongan said.
And what’s wrong with that?
"It really did look quite like a male member.
As opposed to a female member, I suppose
"If we hadn’t received any comment or complaint it may very well have stayed there, but some people found it offensive." The demise of the phallic sculpture has been met with disappointment from some neighbours.
| Those'd be the ones who didn't find it tasteless and/or ugly... |
"I am sorely disappointed I didn’t get to see it as a water feature," Rhonda Jones said. But not everyone in the street was in favour. Matt Newell, who lives across the road, said he was glad it had been removed. "It was a bit obscene," he said.
| "It made me feel... small. |
Another neighbour, who declined to be named, described the penis as an eyesore and said he was especially annoyed when the creators put two large boulders at its base.
Mr O’Neill said the phallic furore was disappointing, but promised the controversial wooden penis would live on - with plans to erect it in his back yard. "When we have barbecues it will be sitting there proud and happy," he said. "I can understand that some people may take offence to it; I thought it was just fun."
| Now you can have fun moving it to the back yard. |
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