Some background. Canberra is celebrating its centenary this year, hence they decided to commission a work of art to commemorate the occasion. The artist used to reside in Canberra, and hot air balloons are fairly common across Canberra.
...and that's about the point where all reason and logic bids us a merry goodbye. This thing is called 'Skywhale', despite the fact that it looks nothing like a whale unless it was a whale drawn by a coked-up Salvador Dali. And yes, it actually cost $170,000.
You can read the artist's rationale (if that is the word...) here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-09/is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-no-its-a-skywhale/4679676?section=act
PS I actually live here.