CNN
—
A controversial statue by Pakistani-American sculptor Shahzia Sikander — one of the few public works by the renowned artist — has been decapitated at the University of Houston.
“Witness,” a 18-foot-tall, larger-than-life gold statue of a levitating woman, was originally commissioned by Manhattan’s Madison Square Park Conservancy and a nearby New York State Supreme Court of Appeals. Created to celebrate women and justice, the statue is topped with two ram’s horns (a symbol of strength, according to the Madison Square Park exhibit guide) and features a large hoop skirt, inspired by the courthouse’s stained-glass dome, dotted with shards of painted mosaics: a woman decorated by a broken glass ceiling.
But those artistic elements, including the braided horns and abstract branch-like arms, have drawn criticism and attention. In February, a Texas anti-abortion group called the work — which also features an intricate lace collar — a “satanic” memorial to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and staged a protest demanding the work’s removal. The university canceled a commencement ceremony for Sikander’s work as well as a planned lecture by the artist.
Earlier this week, as Hurricane Beryl passed through Houston, it was revealed that the sculpture had been severely vandalized and the head of the work had been torn off, an event that Sikander said was captured on surveillance cameras. In an emailed statement to CNN, Sikander said she held the university responsible and wanted the “violated” work to be displayed without a cover, as a “testament to its power.”
“This was a violent, hateful and misogynistic act,” the artist said in a statement to CNN. “And I hold the University of Houston accountable for its inadequate response and failure to protect the artwork. I urge them to release the perpetrator’s images. This despicable narrative must not be obscured by the hurricane. The act of violence is part of the story of the artwork and a testament to its power. I have asked the university to remove the tarp and display the violated artwork. They must respect the artist’s wishes.”
In an initial statement to CNN, the university said it was “disappointed to learn that the statue was damaged early Monday morning as Hurricane Beryl hit Houston” and that “the damage is believed to have been intentional,” adding that “the University of Houston Police Department is currently investigating the matter.” A university spokesperson also said the institution respected the artist’s wish to “leave the sculpture as is, without any repairs.”
The university did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on Sikander’s allegations that it failed to protect the artwork and failed to address the alleged existence of surveillance footage.
