A Mount Alexander artist has thumbed his nose at his shire’s decision not to fly the rainbow flag, projecting a giant version of the gay pride symbol onto the facade of Castlemaine buildings.
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Jim Coad last week used a data projector, powered by a generator and rigged to a utility vehicle, to light up buildings in the flag’s colours.
The Castlemaine Town Hall, municipal offices and the Theatre Royal have all received his rainbow treatment.
Mr Coad said the effort sought to test the theory “the sky would fall in if there were rainbow flags on the council chambers”.
"And guess what? It didn't,” he said.
“In fact I think they should consider the colour scheme when its next due for a coat of Dulux.”
He said the issue of marriage equality had “struck a raw nerve” with a lot of Australians, but most of the feedback he received in Castlemaine was positive.
Mount Alexander Shire councillors voted down a motion to fly the rainbow flag on its buildings during the marriage law survey.
Councillors Sharon Telford and Tony Bell both resigned in the aftermath of the decision, with the latter citing shire staff’s refusal to remove rainbow posters as the reason for his resignation.
“They were thumbing their noses at our decision, so I thought ‘well, why are we councillors?’” Mr Bell told the Bendigo Advertiser.
Ms Telford has not spoken about the reasons behind her departure.
Despite shooting down the flag-flying motion, Mount Alexander councillors last month agreed to consider an roundtable to advise the shire on LGBTI issues.
A meeting to consider idea was held this month and another is planned for November.
Newly appointed mayor Bronwen Machin said it was the council’s goal to achieve “sustained and genuine equality” for same-sex attracted and gender diverse community members, during the postal survey and after its conclusion.
“There is simply no place for discrimination of any kind in our community - we reflect this in our council plan, in our policies and this is an example of us putting this position into action,” Cr Machin said.
This is not the first time guerilla artists have struck in Castlemaine. During this year’s state festival a leaning weatherboard tower erected on the grounds of a local supermarket was torn down because it did not meet the council’s planning regulations.
At the same time, another public art installation, Fridgehenge, was dismantled by vandals.
Mr Coad said the tensions between artists, politicians and the community pointed to a cultural divide in Castlemaine.
“I thought we lived in a pretty progressive town,” he said.
Mark Kearney
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
