Visit Alan and Julie Aston's quaint Hawker house and you wouldn't expect to be greeted by a herd of seven zebras.
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At about 150kg each, the life-sized sculptures have taken over their Canberra home, from the living room to the dining room and kitchen.
But the zebras aren't a permanent fixture and have been temporarily housed in the Astons' home before being driven to their final destination in Sydney.
The Astons, both artists, have been busy creating the zebra sculptures since April for this year's 15th Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi.
They figured that after the popularity of their previous herd, which roamed from Lake George to Floriade and is now at Pegasus Riding for the Disabled at Holt, they would make more and share them with the rest of Australia.
The new zebras - a foal and six adults - cost about $8500 each and were made specifically for the exhibition, which starts next week.
On display will be works by well-known Australian sculptors such as Anne Ferguson, Bert Flugelman, Ron Robertson-Swann and Ken Unsworth.
Mr Aston said, ''It's been flat out since April.
''We start with fibreglass shells, we build the backbones and internal support, we put the manes in, tails on and then we have to hand craft the neck and legs, so there is quite a lot involved.''
The Astons first fell in love with zebras while driving from Cape Town to Kenya.
They saw them in every country and when they returned to Australia decided to have a herd of their own.
''We just fell in love with them,'' Mr Aston said.
''We thought we'd grow some zebras on our farm ... but there were problems doing that so the next best thing was to make a herd.
''After we did them we thought we needed to share them.''
Their first herd began turning heads at Lake George at the Wheatley VC rest stop on the Federal Highway in June last year, but ran into trouble with the NSW Government over planning permits soon afterwards.
Public outcry ensued and the zebras were allowed to stay, but were damaged by vandals at the end of July and had to be sent back to the artists' studio for repairs.When the herd emerged it was for an outing to Floriade before finally finding a home in Holt. The Astons can tell you everything about zebras, from the way their stripes form, to their weak backs and big bottoms.
And every zebra has a different design.
While Mr Aston sculpts and constructs the zebras, Mrs Aston paints and designs them.
Each stripe is meticulously painted according to a photograph taken by the pair on their travels.
Sometimes the stripes don't match up and Julie starts again.
''They're so exotic,'' Mrs Aston said.
''In nature so many things camouflage and blend in but you wonder how the zebras survive.''
The zebras are expected to take prime position at the exhibition and be positioned near Icebergs.
- Sculpture by the Sea starts November 3.