Goya Dmytryshchak
A second giant sculpture along a popular western suburbs’ trail has been cut at its base in act of “selfish and pathetic” vandalism.
The kangaroo figure is one of eight monolithic sculptures over a two-kilometre stretch along the Kororoit Creek Trail at Altona North.
World-renowned artist Geoffrey Ricardo was commissioned by Hobsons Bay council for his Spirits of Time and Place installation.
The Brooklyn-based sculptor was commissioned to do the work as a legacy of Toyota’s Altona manufacturing plant which closed in 2017.
In April, another of the figures was removed at the base and rolled down an embankment.
Ricardo, who last week brought the newly-damaged sculpture to his studio to repair, said he believed it could be the same perpetrators.
“It’s deliberate and intent this time,” he said.
“I think the first time it was just a whole lot of mucking around, let’s see what happens, and this time they said that was fun, let’s do it again, let’s do as much damage.
“The interesting thing is that this time they’ve actually pushed it over, because you can see where it’s landed on its nose, but when I got there it’s been stood up again and pushed over the other way again. So, they’ve had a game of it this time.”
Ricardo said when he repaired the last sculpture, he added steel to make it harder to vandalise.
He said attacks on the community artwork impacted everyone.
“This is just such a selfish thing to do, just for someone’s mild entertainment,” Ricardo said.
“It’s just that destructive instinct … it’s like kids pushing over the other kid’s pile of blocks.
“To me, it’s that juvenile, pathetic, ridiculous, adolescent, childish mentality.”
