Graham’s a crash hot star

The ugliest face ever out of a Geelong office has arrived in the city to greet locals with a road-safety message.
‘Graham’ went on public display at the Geelong Gallery on Thursday for a month-long exhibition until 15 September.
The Traffic Accident Commission (TAC) sculpture has attracted international attention since his public debut in Melbourne last month as the ideal specimen to survive car crashes.
The TAC granted a sneak peak to stakeholders and civic figures earlier this week before unveiling Graham in all his glory for the public days.
Geelong is the first regional city to host Graham before he steps out in various cities across the state.
The TAC commissioned the artist behind Canberra’s controversial Skywhale balloon to create Graham “in a shift away” from traditional road safety campaigns.
The artist worked with road trauma experts to design the ideal physique for surviving crashes, such as a head like a helmet and a rib cage with air-bag-type structures.
TAC boss Joe Calafiore hoped regional Victorians would get the message.
“Reaching out to regional Victorians is a major priority for everyone involved in road safety because the fact remains we’re four times more likely to die on country roads,” Mr Calafiore said.
“By helping Victorians understand that their own vulnerability is at the heart of our road safety problem, we can help them to accept that their own choices are at the heart of the solution.”