Vandal attacks Norwich art work
Tracey GrayA vandal attacked a valuable piece of artwork in broad daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses in Norwich.Tracey Gray
A vandal attacked a valuable piece of artwork in broad daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses.
A man struck at The Forum in Millennium Plain, Norwich, sometime after 4pm on Thursday, scribbling on a photograph which was part of the Elements: Man and the Environment, exhibition being held there.
The piece, entitled City on the Sea 2, was created by artist Luca Illiano and was priced at �300 in the exhibition brochure.
The work has now been taken down, although a spokeswoman for The Forum Trust, which has organised the exhibition jointly with Norwich-based company Bayer CropScience, said it was hoped that, as it was a photograph, it could be reproduced.
She said the artist had been informed about what had happened.
It is believed the vandal struck after the exhibition had closed for the day.
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A spokeswoman said: "We are intensely disappointed by the act of vandalism to one of the art works on show as part of The Forum's exhibition, Elements: Man and the Environment.
"The Forum Trust takes every possible measure to protect the building and is pleased to say that negative acts such as this are an extremely rare occurrence.
"The matter is now one for the police who will be investigating further."
A spokesman for Norfolk Police confirmed they were investigating the matter and looking at the CCTV footage of the attack.
They said: "We believe a man walked up to one of the paintings, scribbled on it and then walked off.
"That is all we know at this point."
He added that at the time there were thought to have been a lot of people there who witnessed the incident.
The exhibition started on Tuesday, January 26, and is running until Monday, February 15.
Alongside the Man and the Environment exhibition at The Forum is Elements Extra, which has photography, poetry, animation and art and design pieces created by pupils from Hellesdon High School and Valley Primary School in Gentry Place, Norwich.
� Anyone with information about the attack should contact Norfolk Police on 0845 456 4567.
� Do you have a story for the Evening News? If so, contact reporter Tracey Gray on 01603 772418.
