För or “Voyage” by Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir, an artwork marking 1000 years of trading links between Hull and Iceland, was stolen from its location in the Victoria Pier Sunday last week. A man has been arrested and interrogated by local authorities. The artwork has not been found yet.
The artwork was ordered by the Icelandic and British government in co-operation with local communities Vík í Mýrdal in South Iceland and the city of Hull.
Artwork För or Voyage in Vík í Mýrdal. Photo by Bernhild Vögel
“This statue symbolizes the city’s relationship with Iceland,” Charles Pinder, chairman of fishing heritage group told local news web in Hull.
Councillor Terry Geraghty , portfolio holder for culture and lifestyle told a local news web “the theft of the statue is an insult to the fishermen who have lost their lives and their families.”
The statue was built in memory of local trawlermen who lost their lives at sea and two local families of lost fishermen and a writer are offering rewards for the statue.
Lord Mayor Councillor Colin Inglis told the same local news web: “We are demanding the return of this statue, which acknowledges the links between Hull and Vik, in Iceland.
“On many occasions, Hull trawlermen were rescued by local people in Vik when vessels ran aground in shallow water and were given food and shelter until the ships were towed to safety and righted. But sometimes sailors did not make it and the significance of the two corresponding statues are held dear by people in Hull and Iceland alike.”
The statue cost the council £40,000 to commission and, if sold on for scrap, could fetch £2,000, the local news web reported.
Colin Inglis, the Lord Mayor Councillor is willing to have the artist reproduce the statue stolen in Hull; the statue in Vík í Mýrdal is identical to the statue stolen in Hull and with a silicon replica of the statue a new bronze statue can be cast, ruv.is reports.
The Lord Mayor councilor and a delegation from Hull will visit Vík í Mýrdal in September. The purpose of the visit to re-enforce old ties between the residents of Hull and the Icelandic people.
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