Sculpture removed from reserve
He looks to the sky, maybe dreaming of becoming a pilot, looking to the future instead of being caught up in the troubled present.
But on Wednesday the carved English beech sculpture, with a plaque explaining its dedication to male suicide prevention, was put in the back of a ute and taken away by New Plymouth District Council workers.
Created by New Plymouthbased artist Donald Buglass, he put the sculpture on display earlier this month on a patch of council reserve land overlooking the Tasman Sea at the end of Belt Rd.
Buglass admitted he did not have council permission to install the sculpture there, and on Wednesday afternoon it was removed. Buglass found out his sculpture was gone after photos of it being taken away were posted on Facebook.
The removal came just hours after the Taranaki Daily News contacted the council to ask questions about the sculpture. Buglass said mowers had been in the area on Wednesday and may have alerted the council.
In an emailed response to questions, the council explained it
supported mental health awareness and had backed the public art installation A Mental WOF and I AM (So) Worth It: A guide to being awesome by local artist Paul Rangiwahia outside the Puke Ariki library.
‘‘In the case of this sculpture attributed to artist Donald Buglass, we appreciate the owner’s good intentions in putting up the work
at Belt Rd, but we do ask that all proposals for public artworks go through the Art in Public Places Trust,’’ group manager of planning and infrastructure David Langford said.
Langford confirmed the council removed the statue on Wednesday and said they have it in safekeeping for the owner to collect, and they ‘‘are grateful that the
owner appears to have restored the grass area afterwards’’.
‘‘We’d be happy to work with the artist to find a suitable place for its display, and we’d encourage anyone considering displaying artworks on NPDC parks and reserves to speak to us first, so we can help guide their proposal with an appropriate location.’’
Buglass said the removal was disappointing but not unexpected. After contacting the council, he had had a call back from the parks department and could pick up the sculpture.
Suicide is an issue that has touched the artist personally. He has had friends die by suicide, including one who helped him store the sculpture, and has been suicidal himself.
‘‘We should at least develop a culture that discusses it and doesn’t make it difficult for people to come forward and talk about it, where it’s not a shameful thing,’’ Buglass said.
‘‘This is my interpretation. It’s a young boy that’s dealing with s... and doesn’t know how to handle it and is looking into the future.
‘‘He’s a plane fan; he’s looking in the sky; maybe there’s a plane going over, and he’s got a dream to be a pilot.’’
The council has a history of not abiding unauthorised art.
In 2011 artworks by an artist known as Eno began appearing all over the city. Despite the popularity of the cartoonish faces and figures, the works were routinely painted over.
When the creator of the works was revealed to be council worker Mikaere Gardiner, who has gone on to establish himself as a respected artist, he faced the threat of disciplinary action.