Abuse over mural a kick in the teeth
IT was a piece of artwork intended for Gold Coasters in need of affordable dental services.
Instead, a Clear Island Waters dental clinic that recently commissioned a professionally painted mural across the road has been subjected to abusive complaints via email, letters and in person.
The response has stumped The Dental Studio owner David Hills and his staff, who say the mural is temporary and was painted after consultation with the property owner.
They also doorknocked neighbours to gauge their response, which they say had been positive.
“We’ve had 10 to 15 complaints in the first week,” Mr Hills said. “We’ve stopped it halfway, to keep peace about the place.”
Mr Hills said the wall that had been painted belonged to a woman who agreed to have the unpainted fence spruced up through some temporary advertising.
He said he had agreed with the woman to paint over the advertising in a few months with a fresh coat of paint.
The mural, which stretches across 15m and is 1.5m high, was finished on Friday by local artist Josh Kuhne of Phresh Ink.
It depicts a smiling face, a sunset and colourful shapes plus a smaller wall stating “No Gap Dentist’’ with an arrow pointing towards the clinic.
But the art has drawn a lot of flak, despite a councilcommissioned artwork further down the road.
One person reportedly stormed into the studio to say it looked “(expletive) terrible and you should be ashamed of yourselves”.
Dental nurse Holly Subritzky said the complaints were unfounded and upsetting.
She said the studio opened in January this year and the mural was a novel way to encourage patients.
“We didn’t expect any people coming up to complain ... we’ve had abusive emails, abusive phone calls, a letter posted through the letterbox saying she would try and take us to court,” she said.
“I went around personally to let (neighbours) know. The immediate neighbours seemed fine with it.
“It’s upsetting ... that there’s people taking the time out of the day to make it an issue.”
She said despite the complaints, there had also been positive feedback.
Residents approached by the Gold Coast Bulletin were divided in their opinions, with most either neutral or positive. A handful said they did not like it.
Mr Hills said people who complained were welcome to a free dental check, adding the mural was now registered as art with the council.
A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said officers were still investigating.