Canberra's sky-dominating whale sculptures were grounded in Ballarat, with their creator saying "bullets of wind came through and just took out two of the breasts" of her original artwork - the Skywhale.
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Artist Patricia Piccinini's Skywhale and her companion piece Skywhalepapa are on a two-year national tour and were set to soar over the Victorian regional city on early Sunday.
However, the launch of the hot air balloons, which also formed part of Ballarat's Winter Festival, at an oval wasn't quite the spectacle that crowds were expecting.
An unfortunate rip in the Skywhale meant she could not take off, and stronger-than-expected wind kept Skywhalepapa and the baby whales sheltering beneath his flippers on the ground.
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"This is what it is like in dealing with nature," Ms Piccinini told the thousands of keen observers who rose early to catch the artworks in action.
"Nature is in control, she calls the shots and that's just part of being alive. It's amazing we are all here today on this beautiful morning and I'm grateful to be here with you."
Following the event, Ms Piccinini told ACM they were cold inflating the sculptures when "bullets of wind came through and just took out two of the breasts and they just ripped underneath".
"It was really awful, it meant the female couldn't fly," she said.
"She will be repaired by the best ... I know she's in good hands and she'll be as good as new and the tour will continue."
Ms Piccinini thanked the Ballarat crowd for their gratitude despite the broken promise of seeing floating whales.
"There were thousands of people there and everybody was really gracious and really concerned," she said.
As part of the event, a choir of about 100 children performed twice as hot air blasted into the balloons, saw the otherworldly shapes evolve and grow as night turned in to day.
An accompanying soundscape changed from the imaginary calls of a skywhale to music as ground crews worked to fill the balloons and stand them upright.
The Skywhale family has been on its Skywhales: Every Heart Sings tour across the country since 2021 following three events in the nation's capital.
During the unfortunate grounding, event attendee Jeremy Poxon said "the Ballarat wind ripped the skywhale open and she can no longer fly".
"She's now being taken behind the shed to be put down," Mr Poxon said on Twitter.
Another user responded with "she was too delicate for this cruel world of spectacle and entertainment".
Skywhale was the first balloon creature launched in 2013 while Skywhalepapa joined the family recently.
"The reason I made her is I just wanted to celebrate the wonder of nature," Ms Piccinini said.
"To know that whales in the sea evolved from a land-dwelling creature that went in to the sea and became gigantic ... is such an extraordinary and inspiring thing."
Skywhalepapa, who carries nine baby skywhales in his flippers, was created in 2020 to celebrate the notion of care.
Ms Piccinini said the sculptures will be brought back to Canberra for repairs before they embark on their next leg of the tour to Cairns.
