A new sculpture in Howick commissioned by Auckland Council to represent women's suffrage has sparked outrage online.
On Thursday morning, Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown posted a picture of the sculpture to his Facebook page, asking his followers what they thought.
The responses were not positive.
"Ghastly. Is it a blindfolded child with bad posture or is it a pregnant woman? Why the blindfold?"
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"This is the ugliest thing I have ever seen".
As well as the initial response to the appearance of the artwork, people were concerned about how much the sculpture cost. Mr Brown informed his audience that it was a "55k cost to ratepayers".
According to Mr Brown, the sculpture was constructed to commemorate 125 years of women's suffrage. But ratepayers are not happy with their money being spent on the "garbage" artwork.
The post is overwhelmingly negative, with commenters saying the art looks "cheap", "nasty" and "a joke".
Auckland Council art and culture manager Richard McWha told Stuff the sculpture is called 'Kid Justice' and was created by artist Erin Forsyth. It is the first of four works to be installed throughout Auckland with "thematic ties to suffrage".
Mr McWha confirmed that the piece cost $55,000, and that he hopes to "get more works that create controversy".
Newshub.
