Future of Ewen Coates' Warrnambool sculpture unclear

Ewen Coates' Three Pillars of Instant Gratification sculpture was removed from its Koroit Street site earlier this year due to deterioration and safety concerns.

Then Warrnambool City Council acting chief executive David Leahy said the pillars needed to be re-rendered because the structure had come loose.

The sculpture, featuring three comic animal-type bronze busts devouring pies, pasties and sausage rolls, was installed in 2010 as part of a council program investing in public art.

The council is in talks with Coates to decide whether the sculpture would be repaired at an estimated cost of $20,000 and reinstalled or decommissioned.

"To just be decommissioned and put in storage or returned (to me) isn't an exciting option for me," Coates said.

"My wish would be for them to repair it and reinstall it, regardless of what the public thinks about it - that might be a different matter altogether.

"I think it's a small price to pay."

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Coates said he would feel let down if the sculpture was decommissioned.

"I'd feel like it wasn't valued and just a sense of neglect for pieces of art that are around the city," he said.

"Naturally, I want it to stay there and even though it's an old work, and I guess I've moved on from that style of work, it doesn't mean it has to go in the bin."

Coates said the sculpture acted as a timely environmental metaphor.

"These three characters could represent destructive forces such as over-consumption, pollution, or industrialisation with the pies symbolising natural resources or the Earth's bountiful offerings," he said.

"The fact this sculpture is placed in the centre of Warrnambool and often seen by people passing is a frequent reminder of these important issues.

"It is also a testament to the town's support for these shared values."

A tourist previously told The Standard he had cleaned the artwork because he was horrified at the state of the sculpture.

He also contacted the council multiple times about repairing it.

A council spokesman said the "very" preliminary cost to replace the base was about $20,000.

"We're still considering options which could include repair and re-installation or decommissioning of the sculpture," the spokesman said.

The sculpture is being stored at a council site.

It isn't the first piece of street art to be removed.

Ballan artist Velislav Georgiev's Chance Encounter was removed from the south-east corner of the Liebig and Lava streets intersection to make way for city centre renewal works about seven years ago.

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