Canberra Hub: Skywhale makes maiden flight over Canberra

Updated May 11, 2013 11:07:40

The controversial Skywhale hot air balloon has taken to the skies above Canberra in a maiden flight to celebrate the city's centenary.

A crowd gathered at the National Gallery of Australia next to Lake Burley Griffin to see the 34-metre-long creation take flight.

After a short flight the Skywhale landed at the National Museum of Australia, where spectators helped deflate the giant balloon.

The balloon sculpture, designed by artist Patricia Piccinini, is twice as big as an average hot air balloon.

It took 16 people seven months to make the hot-air balloon, which can carry a pilot plus two passengers to an altitude of 3,000 feet.

The design has divided opinion, as has the $300,000 cost of the project.

Centenary of Canberra executive director Jeremy Lasek has urged people to see the balloon in flight before making a judgement about it.

"Everyone can see what all the fuss is about and hopefully people will have a different view," he said.

"If they are a critic or at least they get a chance to see the Skywhale up close and personal and they can base an opinion on seeing it in the flesh so to speak."

"I won't make my final decision and verdict on whether I like it or not until I see it."

Piccinini's creation was commissioned by the ACT Government, though the balloon is not actually owned by the territory.

The artist says her inspiration came from the wonder of nature.

"My question is what if evolution went a different way and instead of going back into the sea, from which they came originally, they went into the air and we evolved a nature that could fly instead of swim," she said.

"In fact coming from a place like Canberra where it's a planned city that's really tried to integrate and blend in with the natural environment, it makes a lot of sense to make this sort of huge, gigantic, but artificial and natural looking creature."

Piccinini says she understands the artwork will challenge public opinion.

"I think that's confounding for people because they don't know what the creature is, but secondly they don't know if it's an artwork or what it's trying to do," she said.

Hanging from its giant whale-like body are ten huge pendulous breasts.

Ms Piccinini says they reflect how whales are mammals and breast-feed their young.

The Skywhale will travel to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania in June and the work will be presented at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne later this year.

The Centenary of Canberra also hopes the balloon will appear at galleries and festivals throughout Australia, acknowledged as being commissioned for Canberra's centenary.