Little Peter Rabbit Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
By The Morris on 16-Aug-15. Waypoint GA7411

Take a pic of yourself with Little Peter Rabbit

Well its correct title "Peter Stared into the Vast Unknown" does seem a bit pretentious.

Made from laminated toughened glass and steel, the three-metre-tall artwork is now installed on the hill behind the Bendigo Art Gallery.

“We were interested in acquiring further public sculpture that would interact with the park environment,” the curator said.

“It seemed quite fitting to introduce another introduced species to the edge of the park.”

The rabbit sits up, startled and alert, in the shadow of the poppet head that crowns Rosalind Park.

For the artist, Matt Calvert, Peter is a reminder of the paradoxical way Australians relate to rabbits: as children, we were brought up with Beatrix Potter-style stories, while at the same time we were fighting this introduced species with guns and diseases.

“Coupled with this,” Calvert said, “is an appalling childhood memory of their vulnerability, that moment when they are fully upright on their hind legs, curious and alert, was also the point at which they could be shot with ease.

“The memory acts as an omen-like metaphor for aspiration and curiosity at the point at which it becomes unattainable, or stolen away.”