Is it post-modern expression, an ironic new monument or the result of a new kind of trolley derby?

Whatever it is, those looking to shoot some hoops at Nelson's Pioneers Park in recent days have had their street ball shot-blocked by some street art.

In a scene to baffle trolley wranglers everywhere, seven shopping trolleys have been collected and interlocked to form a sculpture on the park's basketball court, with the trolley handles propping the work up between the ground and the rim of the hoop.

Supplied Seven trolleys from The Warehouse and Countdown supermarket were used to make the sculpture.

The carefully-constructed arrangement, featuring carts from the nearby Warehouse store and Countdown supermarket first appeared on Tuesday morning and has attracted the attention of a number of curious residents around Washington Valley.

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After being dismantled on Tuesday afternoon, a reconfigured version had emerged by the following morning.

MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF The supermarket trolley sculpture at Pioneers Park.

While the creators of the impressive stacks have yet to be identified, the general consensus is one of admiration for the time invested to set the structure up.

Carl Horn first spotted the trolley stack when he was walking into town on Wednesday.

While normally inclined to retrieve a few stray trolleys along the way, Horn was reluctant to disturb this particular cluster of carts.

"Instead of seeing one or two, there were seven hanging upside down and I just stood there and laughed – I wish I had enough spare time to think of something like that," he said.

"It just goes to show how creative people can be."

Hastings St resident Grant Smithies said while the sight of multiple trolleys left in Pioneers Park was not unusual, he was a big supporter of them being used in "clandestine pieces of public art".

"There's always trolleys up the far end that people have just taken halfway up the road and left there and you regularly get woken by drunk folk pushing each other around in them on Friday and Saturday."

"It's just funny if you live near that park because it's been this shopping trolley graveyard off and on...maybe it's someone making a commentary on their alternative uses."

Impressed by the artistic merits of the trolley stack, Valley resident Naomi Arnold posted a photo of the structure on social media on Tuesday morning.

"I was really impressed with the concept, the execution and the way the shopping trolleys were finely balanced on each other was pretty impressive, hung from the basketball hoop like that – it took a lot of effort and foresight," she said.

With an uncertain lifespan expected for the trolley stack before it was removed, she suggested a permanent trolley monument would make an appropriate fixture in the park for the future..

Nelson City Council manager communications Paul Shattock said while they had not received any calls from the public in relation to the set-up, the businesses that owned the trolleys would be contacted to arrange their removal.

The trolley structure had not been organised or commissioned by the council.

"If anyone has any genuine ideas for art in playgrounds or reserves – that don't involve stealing the materials from nearby retailers or anyone else – the best plan is to contact Council to discuss them first."