A Reddit user has sparked outrage online after sharing a photo of a public walkway that many say has been overrun by ads — igniting a broader debate about whether anything in public spaces is still safe from commercial messages.
Photo Posted on Reddit r/sydney community, where users quickly identified the location as the Martin Place metro station tunnel in Sydney, Australia.
Original poster Written on it The image is simply: “Isn’t anything safe from advertising?”
The post struck a chord, gaining attention as commuters and locals shared frustration over what they see as the loss of a rare peaceful civic space.
According to commentators, the tunnel was previously home to an art installation. It was a place where people sat quietly, had lunch, or stopped during their commute. This artwork has now been replaced by large-scale billboards.
This shift has reignited anger over advertising saturation in shared public infrastructure. Critics argue that constant exposure to advertising not only clutters visual space, but it fuels overconsumption, encourages people to buy more goods that require energy-intensive production, and ultimately contributes to overflowing landfills and pollution that is warming the planet.
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Violent public reactions to such changes have become increasingly common, including anger at policy decisions that degrade pedestrian spaces and frustration when shared environments are treated as disposable or commercialized.
As advertising expands into more aspects of daily life, some people are looking for alternatives — from Savings And buy nothing sets just to choose to walk without being sold on at every step.
Comments on the post reflect a mixture of sadness, anger and disbelief.
“Ah. This tunnel was a really cool/beautiful place. Shame to see they destroyed it,” one user wrote books.
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last He added“Wow, it’s really sad to see a work of art repurposed into an ad.”
One commenter Put it down More frankly: “…in all seriousness. The art installation, which was promoted as a spiritual experience of Heaven’s Country from a Gadigal perspective, ran for maybe a year before it became an advertising space.”
Original poster approved, Response“I know – it’s a work of art. People are sitting here quietly eating lunch or just relaxing. And now you have this giant advertisement destroying the place.”
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