By Renee Wood
A public sculpture made by Healesville artist Jenny Reddin has been severed by vandals while on display in Little Collins Street in the city.
The red heart and arm has been removed from the welded metal piece known as the warrior – a feat that would have taken great intent and purpose to remove.
“They’ve obviously done it with a purpose in mind with a fair degree of commitment to defacing it because its 10 millimetre rio bar, so I doubt that you’d cut it with bolt cutters, you’d have to an angle grinder or a decent piece of equipment in order to sever the bars,” Artist Jenny Reddin said.
Ms Reddin was shocked to hear the news on Monday 27 June from the Creative Pod Gallery Owner Anna Priftis who was also baffled to discover the destruction.
“It goes beyond vandalism…We are all so baffled, why would someone go to that length and also they would have had to have had power tools to remove it,” Ms Priftis said.
It stood at two metres tall, weighing over 70 kilograms, with a great deal of work and heavy duty tools needed for its formation.
Ms Reddin created the sculpture during lockdowns as a statement about our connection to humanity and a symbol of having heart and compassion during a difficult time for all.
“It was a statement about humanity, about how we can be strong and we can be powerful, and we can be all those things that represent power, as long as there is a heart attached to it, and that we have compassion and that we have to think about others, particularly during times of Covid,” Ms Reddin said.
Ironically so, the person who’s stolen the heart must have been without compassion for others to inflict damage on private property and art meant to inspire.
“Your artworks become part of your soul in a way, and if they’re damaged it goes straight to the heart of the artist, and don’t take that lightly. It’s a monumental thing to have happen to an artwork, to the artist,” she said.
The piece was installed on Valentines Day this year as a collaboration with the City of Melbourne, to draw the public back into the city with love.
Ms Priftis said it has been well received and it’s often the topic of conversation and meeting place for many city visitors.
“The whole purpose of the Creative Pod is to…bring some more life and reinvigorate to live in the city,” Ms Priftis said.
“A lot of people passerbys would stop and take photographs, ask questions I’d go up and talk to them… it was as an amazing feature to the streets and it added so much interest.”
It has been reported to Victoria Police who is investigating, looking for CCTV for any answers.
Answers Ms Reddin is hoping to get as she hopes to speak with the vandal and offer them the opportunity to find out more behind the work of an artist.
“What was the motivation there? Would you like to see the process of putting it back together again…because it’s devastating for the artist and for the people around me,” Ms Reddin said.
The Healesville artist will now look to bring the piece back to the studio to mend the warrior’s wounds, with the incident potentially to be reflected in its recovery.
“I have been pondering a statement I can make [perhaps] I weld the heart back onto the base place so that it’s a fallen heart…
“I think I have to put the heart back where it was but I might have to do something else to it to make a statement about the damage.”
