Powell River metal sculptor Heather Wall said the theft of her spectacular public art piece, Rock Dragon 2.0, from Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park on the city’s waterfront must have been planned.
The sculpture was stolen sometime between midnight and 5:30 am on June 22. Wall said she was informed of the incident on the morning of June 25.
The dimensions of Rock Dragon make it impossible to think the person or persons responsible could have brazenly walked into the park and taken it, according to Wall. It is just too big and heavy, she said.
“They had to walk in quite a ways; you can't just drive up to this thing,” said Wall. “They had to walk in with ladders and tools. This was planned, it had to have been. It's not something you're just reaching up, undoing and lifting off. It was too high up for that.”
Sculpted from aluminum, Rock Dragon was eight feet off the ground and bolted to a globe.
Looking like Smaug from The Hobbit or Daenery’s dragons in Game of Thrones, Rock Dragon weighs 34 kilograms, has a wingspan of 2.5 metres, is 1.2 metres tall and 1.5 metres wide.
The piece was installed in mid-June. It was on lease to Nanaimo as part of the city’s temporary public art program.
Rock Dragon is one of 11 new public art pieces that will be on display in Nanaimo for the next year, according to City of Nanaimo culture and heritage coordinator Chris Barfoot.
“It's very disappointing; Heather's work is really well received in Nanaimo,” said Barfoot. “She has a high quality and a nice aesthetic to her work that many passersby gravitate or connect to.”
Wall is an emerging metal sculptor who is receiving attention and accolades in Canada and the United States for her distinctive pieces. She was recently commissioned by the Rotary Club of Powell River to do a sculpture depicting a leaping Pacific tree frog for the exterior of Powell River Public Library.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250.754.2345. To to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477 or leave a tip online at nanaimocrimestoppers.com.
Wall said the value of the piece is between $12,000 to $15,000.
