Cairns region rock art an eyesore or 'Eye of God?'
ROCK art or graffiti?
Strange new-age symbols have been emblazoned on a rock headland in the Far North.
It appears to depict the moment of the total solar eclipse when Mother Nature hit the reboot button and plunged the region into an unearthly glow.
More than 60,000 people, including tourists, eclipse chasers and self-declared new-age warriors, last month lined the beaches and headlands from Innisfail to Port Douglas to witness the rare and spectacular natural phenomenon as the moon blocked out the sun.
Some locals liken the spray painting featuring what eclipse watchers call the "Eye of God" surrounded by ripples of deep purple, yellow and metallic reds as being an unlikely piece of "nouveau" rock art.
Others deem it ugly graffiti and want the tag owner punished for vandalising the popular lookout at Trinity Beach.
Cairns police Sen-Constable Russ Parker said the newly marked design and tag was unfamiliar to investigating officers and was illegal.
"I know the spot well. It's a real shame that some moron has chosen to deface it ," Sen-Constable Parker said.
As international tourists pay for guided Melbourne graffiti tours, the Queensland Government has declared a nearly $2 million "war on graffiti".
Local Government Minister David Crisafulli handed $1.75 million to the state's 73 councils to help them clean it up.
He also launched a $250,000 GraffitiSTOP hotline, website and Facebook page to crack down on visual crime.
"People who turn up to the top of a landmark and turn into Mr Squiggle, that is not art, it is graffiti and it is illegal," Mr Crisafulli said.
"If these grubs want to express themselves I suggest they buy a canvas."
Some researchers and art critics believe the line between graffiti and urban art is blurred. They claim it can express a visual language.
To contact GraffitiSTOP call 1300 472 334, or visit graffitistop.com.auor facebook.com/GraffitiSTOPqld
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New-age rage: The circular motif is said by some to represent the eclipse 'Eye of God' when the moon blocked out the sun while others see it as an ugly crime.
