Mike Hewson could be Australia's most scrutinised artist — not necessarily by gallery-goers, but by the harshest critics of all: parents, ABC News reports.
Mr Hewson designs and builds "risky" playgrounds, typified by climbable rocks with with jutting edges, buckets placed precariously on top of one another, and misshapen iron monkey bars.
New risk play park in Melbourne
A new playground on wheels in Melbourne's CBD has received mixed reviews — but the local government says it's an example of a "risk play park", which is "very safe".
But his designs are anything but haphazard.
Each tiny detail is painstakingly planned to the millimetre.
Mr Hewson's new $2.5 million playground in Southbank, which he calls Rocks on wheels, is his first in Melbourne.
It is one of a number of "innovative" playgrounds recently commissioned by the City of Melbourne.
Inspired by Diane Arbus's 1962 photograph of the same name, it features a series of towering bluestones quarried from Port Fairy, which sit on small, wheeled trolleys bolted into the ground.
Strong reactions no surprise
Before being installed, an exact replica was built off-site, where it was adjusted and analysed by a swarm of geologists, structural engineers, crane consultants and playground auditors, before being given the tick of safety approval.
But when the playground's protective barrier was removed, it immediately attracted scepticism from parents, and media coverage probing its safety.
Mr Hewson is used to it – his three other playgrounds in Wollongong and Sydney received the same reaction.
"A playground embodies society's values around family and child raising, which is a charged format to be working in," he said.
"When the media goes hard on me, I'm dealing with important topics close to people's hearts, so there's going to be strong responses."
Despite the headlines, there is clearly a demand for this sort of public infrastructure.
FULL STORY
Meet Mike Hewson, the artist behind Melbourne's 'risky' playground (ABC News)
PHOTO
Mike Hewson spent nearly four years working on the playground in Southbank.(ABC Radio Melbourne: Matilda Marozzi)
