Two unidentified persons caught on surveillance cameras have torn down a sculpture of a young girl holding her ‘hula hoop’ in her hands which was outside a children’s play area in Paphos.
This is what Philenews reported on Sunday, adding that the popular sculpture by Paphos artist Yiota Ioannidou was placed there – in the old part of the city – back in 2019.
In the early hours of Friday, CCTV cameras in the area recorded the two culprits approaching the sculpture, forcibly removing it from its base and dragging it to a spot where it was not recorded.
That’s where the Police believe the vehicle in which the statue was loaded had been parked.
The motive of this unprecedented action is probably the sale of copper – the material of which the statue is made.
Ioannidou, the artist, was deeply disappointed that her work was destroyed in such a way.
“I really find it hard to understand how some people think,” she said. “They desecrate a work of art and destroy public property for just a few euros…the statue inside is hollow”.
As for Paphos Mayor Fedon Fedonos, he announced that the same statue will be re-created and re-installed at that same spot.
“It is a shame that we try to give something beautiful to our society and some people just destroy it. We will soon be rebuilding it, though. Already, a Paphos resident is bearing all costs for the re-creation of the same sculpture.”
At the same time, police investigations are ongoing to track the unidentified two persons.
