{"id":754546,"date":"2026-06-23T07:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/754546\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T07:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:11:14","slug":"public-art-soars-at-bargara-headlands-estate-bundaberg-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/754546\/","title":{"rendered":"Public art soars at Bargara Headlands Estate \u2013 Bundaberg Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260615_Public-Art_Kevin-Dekker_Gummama-in-Flight_015-web-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"Kevin Dekker public art dragonfly\" class=\"wp-image-144276\"  \/>Kevin Dekker has installed his large dragonfly sculpture, \u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019, at Bargara Headlands Estate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bundaberg Region\u2019s newest public art piece, a large silver dragonfly, can now be seen soaring above a roundabout in Bargara Headlands Estate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019 by artist Kevin Dekker, aka the Metalist, was recently installed at the intersection of Logan Road and Headlands Esplanade in Innes Park.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bundaberg Regional Council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brcnow.bundaberg.qld.gov.au\/2026\/06\/01\/new-public-art-approved-for-coast-and-cbd\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">approved the installation<\/a> of the artwork as part of the Bundaberg Region Public Art Masterplan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kevin said the stainless steel figure was inspired by the location which included a walkway through a wetlands area and a regeneration area, Charlotte\u2019s Wood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGum\u2019mama is a dragonfly. This one, I\u2019ll call it a scarlet percher, which is one of the breeds you\u2019ll find common in all of the waterways here, especially here at the Headlands,\u201d Kevin said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"992\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260615_Public-Art_Kevin-Dekker_Gummama-in-Flight_004-web-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Kevin Dekker public art dragonfly\" class=\"wp-image-144280\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6669871061264973;width:427px;height:auto\"  \/>The large stainless steel sculpture is carefully lifted into place and secured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe did put a set of mating dragonflies in the wetlands, which is just around the bend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd I enjoyed that project so much, I thought, well, let\u2019s go for a bigger one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kevin said he was pleased to see the artwork installed after taking it through the public art process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat a relief it is to finally see the Gum\u2019mama actually in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe local residents have really been positive about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey love the nature concept of my art and my sculptures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s been warmly received already just in the early days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019 is part of a broader art strategy for Bargara Headlands Estate led by developer Bill Moorehead and artist Paul Perry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPaul is the mosaic artist in Charlotte\u2019s Wood and that\u2019s a walkway that goes through here and has quite a few wonderful mosaics,\u201d Kevin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPaul\u2019s great to work with, he\u2019s been really good at coordinating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can make all the estates and everything, but without the public art, without the green spaces that you see being done here at the Headlands, without that, it\u2019s just a bunch of houses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPublic art, it puts the fingerprint on it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow it becomes a neighbourhood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An exhibition of Kevin\u2019s work, \u2018Metal in Motion\u2019, is currently on display at Childers Arts Space until 5 July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exhibition highlights Kevin\u2019s use of reclaimed and recycled materials, which he sources from a variety of sources for use in his smaller sculptures as well as public art works like \u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kevin\u2019s art practice explores how the inherent strength and solidity of metals and wood can be transformed into fluid and dynamic sculptures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All artworks in the exhibition are available for purchase.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260615_Public-Art_Kevin-Dekker_Gummama-in-Flight_008-web-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"Kevin Dekker public art dragonfly\" class=\"wp-image-144279\"  \/>Kevin puts the finishing touches on the installation of \u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More news: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kevin Dekker has installed his large dragonfly sculpture, \u2018Gum\u2019mama in Flight\u2019, at Bargara Headlands Estate. Bundaberg Region\u2019s newest&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-754546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}