Posted July 05, 2017 10:52:31

Photo: Uncle Daryl is a cheeky homage to musician Daryl Braithwaite. (ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne)

If horses evolved the ability to wear pants, how would they wear them?

It is a question that probably deserves to be answered anywhere but the city named after the father of evolution Charles Darwin.

But that is where it is being asked after a sculpted artwork of a chestnut horse wearing blue denim was installed in a park on the outskirts of Darwin's CBD.

The horse, named Uncle Daryl, is the collaborative work of street artist David Collins and visual artist Tamara Howie.

And both argued that because a horse lacked arms, its pants should be worn on all four legs, not just on its hind legs as humans would.

Their choice to use the artwork to pay homage to musician Daryl Braithwaite is also a cheeky hit at people who believe otherwise.

"There's only one way a horse should wear pants, 'And that's the way it's gonna be, little darlin'," they said.

The consternation the installation has caused is not lost on either artist.

"There's no excuse really," Howie said.

"David's always been a bit of a troublemaker and I think he liked the opportunity to stir everyone up."

Collins said the horse's controversial leg coverings were not part of his original concept.

"I was actually going to decoupage, paste up the whole horse with Daryl Braithwaite faces," he said.

"But I did the maths and it was going to be 600 Daryl Braithwaite faces I'd need to cut out and I just didn't have the time."

Uncle Daryl is one of eight equine artworks to have appeared around Darwin in recent weeks; all are part of an interactive art exhibition sponsored by the Darwin Turf Club (DTC).

DTC's Kelly Harding said she commissioned artists for the Horsing Around exhibition and gave them one simple brief — brighten up the city.

"It's gorgeous to see them popping up and great to see people interacting with them," she said.

"There's a completely different style for all of them and they're all uniquely beautiful."

Whether or not the painted ponies have succeeded in brightening the city, the antics that some of the sculptures have inspired have brightened the mood of many social media users.

Some of the Horsing Around artworks will be auctioned off at the conclusion of the exhibition, with the proceeds going to charity.

Topics: contemporary-art, street-art, offbeat, darwin-0800