Fatbergs feed on the wrong items that end up in our toilets and drains, expanding into a messy mass before they block our wastewater system and spill into the street.
It sounds pretty gross because it is. They impact on our natural and built environments, while being time-consuming and expensive to deal with.
Multiple fatberg incidents this year – including a current blockage in Bellerine St, Geelong – have provided sharp reminders of the ensuing disruption.
While Barwon Water have long handled these subterranean troublemakers, a fatberg has formed in Norlane that can’t be tamed.
Emanating from the studios of The Indirect Object, this ghastly creation is 6.8 metres long, 2.4 metres wide and more than 1.6 metres tall.
And it only wants to get bigger.
The fatberg will feast on the talents of visitors, when it moves into Barwon Water’s new event and exhibition venue, dubbed the Pooseum of Modern (f)Art.
Kids of all ages will be able to walk and crawl through its tunnels and arches and add their own touches to the tactile creation.
“The fatberg is a way of using play and design to promote community awareness of something that’s important,” Indirect Object’s Beth McMahon said.
“Play; curiosity; discovery; that is the foundation of how young children learn.
I think it’s a beautiful structure and I think it’s going to look amazing in (the Pooseum), because it’s such a great space behind the Geelong Arts Centre.”
Opening for Geelong Design Week on November 21, the Pooseum will offer a range of family-friendly arts and cultural activities.
Alongside the fatberg it will feature colourful installations by renowned artist Callum Preston.
Rounding out the experience is a wealth of books, colouring-in materials, crafts, free play areas and quizzes.
The Pooseum is at the base of Barwon Water’s Ryrie St building, with access via the Aitchison Place entrance.
It will be open daily from 10am to 2pm throughout Geelong Design Week from November 21 to 30.
