‘It’s like a Dalek scrapyard’, locals fume over ‘eyesore’ £20k 8ft-high gold cones that turned black and burnt hands
FURIOUS residents have slammed a gold cones installation as a waste of money, with some claiming it looks “like a Dalek scrapyard”.
The controversial 8ft-high sculptures, which cost nearly £20,000, are at the centre of a planning row after they all turned black less than a year after being unveiled.
Disgruntled locals in Farnham, Surrey, blasted the pricey, metal cones complaining that passers-by who were encourage to interact with the display burned their hands after touching the sculptures in hot weather.
They have also criticised the installation, which has now turned “grey” and “ugly”, as a “thunderous cacophony of sound” for neighbours.
The once shiny brass artwork – likened to “Madonna‘s bra” when first installed – has weathered over the last year meaning it now resembles “black dented cones”.
Although the artist said the effect was “totally deliberate”, some residents say the display has become an “eyesore” that has ruined a previously attractive green space.
NO PLANNING PERMISSION
When first unveiled at a riverside town centre site in April last year, baffled locals likened the golden cones to a “Dalek scrapyard” and “giant dunce hats”.
But it recently emerged that the council-approved project, titled A Hand’s Turn, did not have planning permission before it was erected.
The local authority has now applied for retrospective permission, but residents say the installation is undemocratic and have called for it to be “chucked in the bin”.
The project, which involved Farnham Town Council, the University for the Creative Arts, the Farnham Maltings arts centre and the Farnham Public Art Trust, was conceived in 2020.
The university-funded ‘kinetic’ sculptures cost £19,500 to create, measure up to 8ft tall, and were said to symbolise “the enduring role of hands in craft for thousands of years”.
Earlier this month, Farnham Town Clerk Iain Lynch applied for official planning permission for the “sculptures on grassed area”.
Now, angry residents of the affluent market town said they are appalled that permission for the “ugly” sculptures was not sought before their installation.
‘A WASTE OF MONEY’
Writing an objection on the Waverley Borough Council website, resident Penny Marshall said: “It is appalling that planning permission was not sought by the organisers before installation.
“No consideration was given to neighbouring residents who have to look at this eyesore every day, not just when passing by like the rest of us.
“They have ruined what was a pretty green area with flower beds, they have attracted vandals and are now damaged, they have caused noise for neighbours by people banging them, people were encouraged to interact with them and have burnt their hands in hot weather and the cones are now grey, dull and even more ugly than they already were.
“Such a waste of £19,500.”
This area would look so much better if it were removed – perhaps chuck them in the bin.”
Haydn Owens
Another local resident, Haydn Owens, objected to the permission and said the sculpture “looks terrible”.
He added: “I absolutely hate seeing this ‘art’ when it was installed.
“It was never installed under public consultation and I believe, like so many others, that it was a huge waste of public money or something that the public didn’t want or need.
“This area would look so much better if it were removed. Perhaps move them to Farnham Park or chuck them in the bin.”
Christi Daugherty, a bestselling author who lives in the area, also wrote an objection to “this art installation’s planning permission”.
The novelist said: “It has been in place for a year or so now, and it has already decayed to an extraordinary degree.
“The gilding has washed away, and various pieces are battered and damaged. The installation has not been maintained, and there’s no indication that it will be maintained.
“The art has had the unintended effect of making the area less attractive.”
Another neighbour, Jenny Barratt, said: “People of all ages regularly bang the cones creating a thunderous cacophony of sound that emanates as they bang one after another, and another, and another.”
‘EYESORE’
Meanwhile, resident Helen Young wrote: “Planning permission should have been sought before the cones were put there not afterwards. The cones do not look like art.
“They just look like dented black cones – an eyesore!
“They cost thousands which is a complete waste of money.
“I do not want planning permission retrospectively granted for these undemocratically imposed cones.”
‘A Hand’s Turn’ was created in early 2023 by artists Natalie Bradwell and Livia Spinolo as “a sensory, tactile and interactive sculptural installation”.
One of the artists, Natalie Bradwell, admitted she “didn’t know” the council hadn’t applied for permission, adding: “I assumed it had planning.”
The 39-year-old continued: “Farnham Council, they gave me an incredible opportunity and I got to do something I have always wanted to do.
“It was one of the most well-rounded, tied-up, things we could have come up with and we thought that really, it was perfect for Farnham.
“It’s sad that there are some people who are gunning for it.”
‘TOTALLY DELIBERATE’
Ms Bradwell said the cones were made of an internal steel structure and covered in sheets of brass.
Discussing the change of colour, Ms Bradwell said she expected them to darken in colour and it was “totally deliberate”.
She added: “That was a big part of the process when I pitched the idea. I said as time goes on, they are going to get a patina, so they aged.
The artist added: “They are dismantle-able.
“Very, very, worst case scenario… if they have to come out then they have to come out. I said to a resident, worst case scenario then they can come out.”
But not all locals are opposed to the artwork.
Jenny James said: “I like this art installation. My children enjoy interacting with it whenever they walk past.”
Georgeen Hamming from Colchester, Essex, visited Farnham for a “short break” with her husband and said she thought the sculptures were “a bit of fun” and “something that catches your eye”.
The 72-year-old said: “I think it’s quite an interesting thing to have there.
“I’m not local so for me, it’s just a bit of fun but I can understand why people who live locally may be a bit fed up with it.”
Farnham Town Council has been contacted for comment.
A decision on the cones is expected to be made next month.