Public art is not street art
Street art is graffiti, paint on walls, stealthy, and not sanctioned. Public art is commission and installed. I am impressed with the amount of public art there is in public gardens and on the streets as it was one of the first things I noticed about my Melbourne wanderings.
What is UooUoo?
UooUoo (pronounced you-you) is an imaginary Australian creature whose shape is loosely drawn from the wombat and dugong. A mysterious being, UooUoo is highly empathetic, playful and brave, but can be mischievous at times. https://uoouoo.org.au
There were many UooUoos scattered in the city and I was delighted each time I saw one.
On the Sandidge Bridge, we found stainless steel sculptures depicting ten Travellers figures representing a period of migration to Australia. Along the walk, there were information panel representing a community of more than 1000 people. Communities of between 100 and 1000 were mentioned on summary panels. Fact sheet.
First Settler – The Convict Period (1788 – 1868) 
Running Couple – Refugees (1856 – 2005) 
Butterfly Girl – Asian and middle east migration (1975 – 2005)
In the Fitzroy Garden, I found a slightly distressing sculpture of dolphins on rocks. There was no water so it looks like the dolphins had been stranded without out water. The Fairies Tree, comprising a series of lovely carvings on the stump of one of the original Red Gum trees in the Fitzroy Gardens, well over 300 years in age, was carved 1931 to May 1934. In 1948 the miniature Tudor Village was presented to the City of Melbourne through the City of Lambeth, England, in appreciation of Melbourne’s generosity in sending food to Britain, during the Second World War.
Dolphin Fountain 
Fairy Tree 
Tudor Village
In the CBD (central business district) there are more pieces of art than I can find or photograph. Here are a few of my favorites.
Literal art painted ON the street 
It’s hard to get good shots sometimes 
Along the Yarra River 
Queen Steet 
No idea what it is but I like it 
these projections blink and move side to side 
Favorite 
At noon this animates and plays Waltzing Matilda 
Don’t know what it is, but like it
I found a Dockland’s public art walk website that helped me find more pieces. One day I think I walked 15K steps to find 20 works. I never found all of the art and had to explore more than one day to find what I photographed.
Art for all
Because the art is in public places, sometimes it was hard to get a good photo. There would be stop lights, power lines, throngs of people, or poor lighting that prevented me from capturing the image I intended.
I like the whimsy, the creativity, the craft of all of the art I encountered. As I photographed them and locals walked around me, I wondered if they even saw the art anymore or if it was just a blur. I try to approach each piece with fresh eyes each time I see it.
PS: the header image is the Great Petition (sculpture) refers to the “Monster Petition” calling for women to be granted the right to vote, which was signed by 30,000 Victorian women over a period of six weeks in 1891. The original petition, which consists of sheets of paper glued onto lengths of calico fabric, is 260 metres long and is held by the state’s Public Record Office.
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