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The Headington SharkThe Headington Shark first graced the skyline of the quiet, middle class Oxford suburb of Headington on August 9 1986. Bill Heine, who still owns the house, has said "The shark was to express someone feeling totally impotent and ripping a hole in their roof out of a sense of impotence and anger and desperation... It is saying something about CND, nuclear power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki." The daunting embodiment, weighing two hundred kilograms, standing at 25 feet long and made entirely of fiberglass, is named "Untitled 1986" (written on the gate of the house). The sculpture was erected on the 41st anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bomb dropping. "It is rather realistically painted and, being almost as tall as the house it sticks out of, a lot bigger than people tend to expect. Altogether the effect is at once comical, awe inspiring and surreal." Created by sculptor John Buckley, the shark caused a storm of controversy when it first appeared. Despite many attempts by the council to have it taken down it is now recognised as a unique piece of art.
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