The artist of a stolen public sculpture is devastated and locals furious about the removal of "a piece of the Canberra community".
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The nearly life-size statue, called Stepping Out (Lady in Pearls), was ripped away from Hughes shops at the weekend. The lady's bronze shoes and part of her legs were left standing.
"I was angry, shocked and disappointed when I heard what happened," one of the artists, Giovanna Ianniello, said.
"It was a bit like someone had actually been taken away, like she was now a missing person."
ACT Policing are investigating the offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.
An ACT government spokeswoman believed there was some CCTV footage of the act and hoped it would provide some answers.
Residents of the South Canberra suburb treated the bronze figure as one of their own since the government commissioned Ms Ianniello and Gerard Murphy to create the art in 1997.
Scarves and jumpers kept the local celebrity cosy in winter; decorations gave her a festive spirit at Christmas.
She was even politically decorated in a "stand up for refugees" t-shirt and spray-painted bright pink over the years.
While Ms Ianniello accepted that vandalism was common with public art, she was alarmed at the persistence used to tear her masterpiece apart.
As the legs were likely the weakest point in the mould-jigsaw-puzzle, she suspected the statue was yanked out with rope, which would have been difficult and noisy.
"I thought about it all day today and yesterday and still haven't figured out why anyone would want to do it ... I don't know what their intentions are," Ms Ianniello said.
"Were they that desperate to melt the bronze down? Because they could earn a little money with that.
"And if the intention was that it was a joke in someone's backyard, well what do you do about that?"
Creams Residential real estate agent Chris Wilson has worked at Hughes shops since before the artwork was made and said the shops felt different without it.
"It was really sad to see that happen, and all the residents are really angry about it," Mr Wilson said.
"I hope it gets replaced."
With Ms Ianniello now working in art policy with the federal government and lacking access to the same mould, she ruled out remaking the Stepping Out statue.
But she said she'd definitely work in consultation with another local artist to help them replace it.
"When we made the art, it was playing on the idea that sometimes people feel isolated, and it was about having someone there to brush past when you're at the shops," Ms Ianniello said.
"So it's a great opportunity to have a discussion about public art and see what the community at Hughes wants, as the demographics have changed over time and they might want something different."
Police urge anyone with information to contact crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.
