A pair of Vancouver artists say it’s frustrating to have to come back to Thunder Bay again to repair their vandalized sculptures.
Paul Slipper and Nadine Stefan are the sculptors of 10 granite balloon animals on display at the waterfront. Originally installed in the fall of 2011, the artists have now been back to Thunder Bay twice to fix the heads of their sculptures. More than half of the animals have been damaged.
“It’s frustrating obviously that it’s repeated,” Slipper said Sunday on a break from his work at the Baggage Building Arts Centre. “It’s frustrating to have to come back here and repair the same thing again.”
Stefan said the team has installed granite public art projects in other cities and has never had a problem with vandalism. She was surprised the first time it happened in Thunder Bay.
“We are beginning to see a pattern. It’s obviously about challenge and dare,” she said.
The sculptures were in a somewhat secluded area. Stefan thinks that they were broken by someone kicking them repeatedly. But there’s been no evidence of a sledgehammer or other tool.
“You can break almost anything if you work at it hard enough,” she said.
Slipper and Stefan are working on the sculptures until next week when they’ll be reinstalled near Pier 1. The city hopes better lighting and security in that area will detract people from vandalizing the sculptures again. The total cost of the project when first installed was $95,000.
