Add Category
A set of "completely creepy" ghoulish faces embedded in the concrete of a little-used footbridge in Brunswick West has locals mystified and horrified.
About 25 life-size faces, seemingly made out of concrete and each one lacking a nose, have been installed along a footbridge that runs over CityLink between Peacock Street and McColl Court.
Cut off the nose to spite the face
A set of 25 ghoulish faces line a bridge in Brunswick West. They're all missing their nose, and nobody knows where they came from.
Their terrifying visages are drawing thrill-seeking tourists to the footbridge, particularly at night when the moonlight turns them into horrifying shadows.
There is no plaque to explain the faces' provenance, and the local council was unaware of their existence until alerted by Fairfax Media.
But the heavy faces would likely have required professional scaffolding and much effort to install.
"It's completely creepy," says Chris Millington, who lives on a nearby street.
"Not only the faces themselves, but the graffiti. They look really ghoulish and terrifying."
"What does it symbolise? Because it's right over CityLink, it's a pretty terrifying bridge anyway.
"I'm six foot three, the sides of the bridge only come up to my waist, it's pretty terrifying to walk across."
A spokesman for Moreland City Council said it was believed the faces may be the work of guerilla artists.
But Mr Millington, who works as a construction management consultant, said the installation was too professional for guerilla artists.
Brunswick's bridge of faces is especially creepy after dark. Photo: Peter Barrett
The faces are evenly spaced across the bridge and all are at precisely the same height.
Mr Millington believed they were made from lightweight concrete or plaster before being bonded onto the bridge's concrete sides – an act likely to have required scaffolding.
They are installed in a repeating pattern of three – a man, a woman, and a Neanderthal-like figure with a prominent forehead and underbite. Each has had its nose removed
"They look well set in, they don't look like they have been rushed. They are too perfect," Mr Millington said.
"They are set at equal distances, the same height. It does not look like a rushed job. It would surprise me if it was done under the cover of darkness."
Information about the bridge is almost impossible to find online, and council and government is baffled.
Fairfax has also contacted VicRoads, the state government and CityLink for comment.
Other than Instagram posts, the only other mention of the faces easily found online comes from Melbourne blogger Mow Your Lawn! who posted images of them in 2011.
"I've searched far and wide for an explanation of this and have so far found nothing," the blogger wrote. "Still, an explanation wouldn't stop this thing being creepy. I feel sorry for all the poor children who have probably been given nightmares from walking across this bridge."
"I inspected the bridge thoroughly and found absolutely no explanation for these heads. No artist name, no commemorative plaque, nothing. Just a whole lot of unnerving stone heads
"These remind me forcibly of the way that hunters display deers' heads and the like over their fireplaces. Some of the heads look as though they've been burnt, and others have missing pieces. Some of the heads have been defaced as well, which in most cases just adds to the eeriness. The drips of spraypaint on some of the heads make them look as though they're crying."
This appears to be the only other mention of the heads on the web.