New thefts of public art - bronze statues live dangerously

The "monument" in Lund was stolen during the autumn on cannon pipes and cannon balls. In Kävlinge the statue "Flora" disappeared a year earlier. Kristianstad lost two statues in November and another seven in 2015.

- We have over 100 sculptures in the municipality and those who have disappeared are bronze sculptures, so we think that is the material value they are looking for. It is metal thieves who want the metal and not the sculpture really, says Margareta Reuterswärd, art gallery manager in Kristianstad.

Since the statues have not appeared on the secondary market, the risk is that they are simply melted down.

In the past, the municipality has DNA-marked all the sculptures and put up scary signs about this. But to no avail.

Some municipal-owned artworks have been moved to locked courtyards, but Margareta Reuterswärd does not see it as a reasonable solution to move all artworks that are at risk.

- They are often created for a specific place and then they cannot be moved without the artist's approval.

The municipality is also considering 3D scanning all sculptures in a hazardous environment so that they can be recreated after a possible theft. A requirement for art purchased for the municipality in the future will be that they have an integrated alarm function.

The "monument" in Lund was erected in the late 1800s in memory of the bloody battle of Lund in 1676 and stands in its own park. In October, it was clear that it was relied on five guns and several cannonballs.

- It's upsetting and boring, says Emil Nilsson, responsible for public art in Lund Municipality.

The theft was reported to the police, but the stolen metal parts are not found. The ambition has been a rapid renovation, but it has proven to be a lengthy process, according to Emil Nilsson.

A conservator with the right qualifications must inspect the work and make suggestions on how to best refurbish it and a discussion must then be held with the insurance company.

In Lund, a possible future DNA-labeling of the public art belonging to the municipality is now being discussed.

In Ystad, at the start of the school after the Christmas holidays, it was discovered that a sculpture depicting a young boy in a seashell has disappeared outside the Österports school. Here, too, DNA labeling and possible future surveillance of sculptures are being discussed. Maybe alarms will also be installed, according to Art Hall Manager Ýrr Jónasdóttir.

She has a hard time getting over the theft.

- It is part of the cultural heritage, a unique object that stood outside a high school. It's sad.