Mildura's new tourism campaign, featuring the controversial sculpture Vault, has drawn criticism from its creator, Ron Robertson-Swann. The campaign, titled "Bring Vault Home," aims to relocate the bright yellow sculpture from its current location outside the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank to the Mildura Arts Centre.

Vault, often referred to as the "Yellow Peril," was first installed in Melbourne's City Square in 1980 and moved to its present site in 2002. Last week, the Mildura Rural City Council announced the campaign, claiming that Robertson-Swann had "welcomed the proposal." However, the artist disagrees.

In an interview, Robertson-Swann described the campaign as a "silly beat up to get publicity." He expressed frustration, stating, "I thought it was silly but they went ahead with it. I couldn't stop them from doing that. That's their business. They're happy, I think, because this is all going on now and they feel they've really seriously generated something, but it's hollow. It's completely hollow and it's probably, if anything, exposing the stupidity. The silliness of it frustrates me."

The Bring Vault Home campaign is part of a broader initiative to promote Mildura as the new arts and culture capital of regional Victoria. The campaign includes a video featuring actor Shane Jacobson, who serves as Mildura's tourism ambassador. The video, which the council confirmed utilized artificial intelligence, depicts a crowd gathered around Vault, expressing a desire to bring it "home." Jacobson states in the video, "The Vault has been underappreciated, undervalued, unloved, it's even been mocked in Melbourne for way too long — we are talking decades."

Robertson-Swann noted that the City of Melbourne owns Vault and estimated that relocating it would cost over $1 million. He criticized the Mildura council's efforts, saying, "I think it's profoundly silly, because ... Mildura has no intention of spending any money. The only money they spent was on phone calls to start this beat up. If Mildura council was at all serious, they should start purchasing a few more sculptures for ... the gallery."

In response, the Mildura Rural City Council stated that Robertson-Swann had indicated support for the initiative during consultations. Phil Stone, the council's strategy and growth general manager, said, "We have enormous respect for Ron Robertson-Swann's artwork, which is why we are asking for Vault to join its little brother, [the sculpture] Beethoven, and we'd certainly like to see more sculptures in Mildura and the broader region. We have invited Ron and his wife to visit Mildura and we're looking forward to hosting them when they arrive."

The proposal has sparked debate among Melbourne city officials. Lord Mayor Nick Reece has rejected the idea of relocating Vault, asserting that the sculpture belongs in Melbourne. However, Councillor Philip Lui expressed a different viewpoint. He stated, "If there is a serious proposal, if there is a serious interest, I don't think we should be just putting up a straight: 'No.' I want to hear what the reason is, what's the proposal, how they're going to look after it, what's the interest? Because ultimately public art is for the public, if there is interest in it, and given that we are the leaders in the local government sector we do, I think, have to show leadership."