After the controversial statue Witness was beheaded during Hurricane Beryl, its artist said her piece lived up to its name and that she is not fixing it.
The sculpture had braids like ram horns, root-like arms, and represented the resilience of the feminine and the power of women within the justice system. It was installed near the Cullen Plaza fountain on the University of Houston campus.
Since its announcement, Witness became controversial for having braids like horns, in addition, its artist, Shahzia Sikander said its twin sculpture NOW was related to women’s reproductive rights. Because of this, numerous pro-life threatened to protest on the UH campus “to keep the Satanic abortion idol out of Texas.”
The sculpture was beheaded on July 8 at 3 a.m., just before Beryl had hit Houston. It is still unclear the motives behind the vandalization.
“As the artist who created the work, I have chosen not to repair it,” SIkander wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. ” I want to leave it beheaded, for all to see. The work is now a witness to the fissures in our country.”
“When we are witnessing a regression of women’s rights around the world, especially in the United States, art can function as a vehicle of defiance,” she added. “It can also be a path toward rectification. It’s clear to me that the people opposed to the statue object to its message of women’s power.”
Both Witness and NOW were co-commissioned by Public Art of the University of Houston System and the Madison Square Park Conservancy. Witness was expected to stay in Houston until October 31.
Sikander said UH “should take this opportunity to educate the public about the art that was savaged and address the ignorance and rage underlying the attack.” She also noted that, although some groups were offended by her artwork, the First Amendment protects her freedom to create art
“And we should leave the statue the way it is: a testament to the hatred and division that permeate our society,” she concluded.
