Australia’s next big thing unveiled in Brisbane

Uncoiling outside Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), it resembles a gargantuan green tree snake, but The Big Hose, which launched on September 22, represents the latest in the Aussie adoration of all things large.

Measuring some 119 metres long, this interactive play-sculpture perched on the banks of the Brisbane River pays homage to the quintessential Queensland lifestyle with its subtropical gardens, yawning verandas and the most coveted of all: a backyard.

The Big Hose is 119 metres long.

A collaboration by Brisbane First Nations’ artist Tony Albert and a Sydney contemporary artist who goes only by the first name of Nell, the sculpture even features a native water rat sculpture hidden in the end of the hose attachment, which has been deliberately designed to encourage climbing children.

Is The Big Hose proof you can’t water down the Australian enchantment with giant tourist attractions? Yes, according to University of Melbourne academics Associate Professor David Nichols and Dr Cristina Garduno Freeman, whose research paper into the subject seems to indicate there is no end to this peculiar passion.

“On one hand, these iconic-yet-useless structures are built to demonstrate without fear of contradiction how advanced and resourceful a nation is,” they published in the university’s online publication, Pursuit.

“On the other, they are just a bit of fun: sculptures that encapsulate homo ludens or, in real-speak – the playful element of cultures and societies.

The work is designed to encourage children to play on it.

“Australian local businesses and governments are pragmatically visionary, concentrating on local industries and branding – or brandscapes. They frequently deploy a quirky ridiculousness that has quickly passed into the realm of kitsch.”

But are Australia’s big things – estimates on how many exist vary greatly but there is believed to be more than 150, prompting entrepreneurial types to publish maps on the most iconic – an actual destination drawcard or simply something travellers stumble upon in their journey?

Queensland Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek believes, at least in the case of Australia’s latest big thing, it adds to a destination’s desirability.

“The Big Hose is an accessible arts experience that transforms a public space and helps to strengthen the state’s reputation as a vibrant cultural destination ahead of Brisbane 2032,” he says.

The Big Hose is a collaboration by Brisbane First Nations’ artist Tony Albert and Sydney contemporary artist Nell.

University of the Sunshine Coast history lecturer Dr Amy Clarke, who is researching “the global history of big things” says high-profile attractions, particularly new ones, attract visitors in their own right.

“But there are so many of them, people do also stumble across them. The interesting thing with The Big Hose is it’s in the middle of a city rather than by a roadside,” she says.

“There’s usually a popularity for a couple of weeks while it’s in the news but it’s a bit like the latest movie – if you haven’t gone out of your way to see it, you probably won’t.”

But for now, 60 years since Australia’s first giant attraction The Big Scotsman opened in Adelaide in 1963, followed closely by Coffs Harbour’s The Big Banana a year later (and who can forget the Sunshine Coast’s iconic The Big Pineapple in 1971?), the idea that “big is beautiful” continues to flourish in this big wide land.

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