Vandals damage Oulu sculpture featured in New York Times

Vandals have seriously damaged the two-metre Super Kello marble sculpture at Kiviniemi fishing harbour in Oulu, Yle reports. Holes were hacked into the edges of the work.

The Kello village association has filed a criminal complaint over the damage.

“The pictures suggest that this was not an accident but a deliberate act,” said Tero Väyrynen, head of communications at the Oulu Police Department.

The damage is believed to have occurred at the end of August.

Super Kello was created by the Danish art group Superflex and Portuguese architecture firm KWY. It is part of the Climate Clock series produced for Oulu’s year as a cultural capital.

The New York Times, one of the world’s best-known newspapers, wrote about the sculpture in April.

The village association said on Facebook that it was saddened by the treatment of the artwork and that the vandalism affected not only the sculpture but also the area’s appeal. It has installed a recording surveillance camera nearby and hopes the sculpture can be repaired.

Police are continuing to investigate and are asking anyone with information to come forward. Finnish newspaper Kaleva was the first to report the damage.