A life-size wooden statue of the Drenthe blues singer Harry Muskee disappeared last night. Where the statue stood at the Cuby + Blizzards Museum in Grolloo, there is now a wooden sign with a rebus, reminiscent of a New Year’s Eve stunt.
The museum will not report the theft for the time being, because it is assumed that a New Year’s Eve association is behind the disappearance. A day earlier, works of art were removed from six places along the historic TT route and puzzles were also left behind in those places.
Curator Sjoerd Looijenga of the C+B Museum therefore reacts calmly to the sudden disappearance of the statue. “During his life, Harry was sometimes lost when he actually had to perform. So that suits him,” says the curator with a wink.
However, he is astonished by the sudden disappearance of the statue. The wooden work of art was taken by strangers without local residents noticing. “It is a very heavy thing and was once placed here with a large crane. So it is a good stunt that they did it silently,” says Looijenga.
The statue was made in 2021 by wood artist Jelmer Zwaan from Meppel, due to the tenth anniversary of the death of the frontman of blues band Cuby + Blizzards. According to Looijenga, the statue is now starting to show some wear. “That’s why we didn’t dare move it anymore. It is actually a fallen oak tree with the roots still underneath. So we are curious to see how it will turn out,” says the curator.
Zwaan has no problem with his statue being kidnapped. He’s even a little impressed by it. “How did they do that? It’s a really heavy statue, so she must have had a tap,” he says. “I think it’s a funny idea. And it’s also something typically Northern, so it’s nice.”
Looijenga expects the image to reappear somewhere ‘in the Drenthe-Frisian border area’, where many New Year’s Eve associations originate. There is often a code of honor that stolen objects are returned in one piece, after the traditional unveiling on New Year’s Eve.
The curator would like to urge the people who stole the wooden blues singer to be careful with fire during the unveiling. “Of course it’s made entirely of wood, so Harry is a fire hazard. Hopefully they don’t do anything with fire fountains.”
There is a good chance that the statue bandits will get credit for their work for a while longer. The curator plans to include the theft in an exhibition about Muskee. “We now have an exhibition with the theme ‘traveling with the blues’, about the travels that Harry has made. And now, even fourteen years after his death, he is traveling again. So we can do something with that!”