According to the artist, the message to criminals is clear. “She can’t be taken with her. She is just as steadfast as I am to get her back to her place.” The text says on Veenus’ Plaquette: ‘The vulnerable requires protection, so that it grows as a strong and independent soul.’ According to Cerneüs, that is a truth like a cow. “She requires protection, but is incredibly strong. She stands for us as North Hollanders who live more than six meters below sea level.”
Criminals want the material
Although he can say little about the suspected attempt at theft, Cerneus suspects that it is not the criminals to do the image themselves, but for the material. “Otherwise they would not have tried to saw it off,” he explains.
For now, the sculptor is trying to make something beautiful from the Easter days, as far as possible. But: that’s not easy. “The municipality is the official owner of the image, together with the water board we all feel responsible for the image. But honestly: she still feels like ‘my girl’.”