The ‘mystery’ of the disappeared TT artworks in Rolde, Grolloo and Borger has been solved. The statues were not stolen as part of a New Year’s Eve stunt, but the Toyist works were collected by the art movement for restoration. “I’ve had it since October. They are in our studio,” says Dejo, founder of the Toyists.
Only yesterday it became apparent that the TT artwork had disappeared The Zeitgeist of Racing. The image has adorned the Brink in Rolde since 2016, but suddenly it disappeared. So already in October, it now appears. Chairman of the village interest association of Rolde, Ben Ernens, had not noticed it before. “An end-of-year stunt? I think so, who else has an interest in it…”, he wondered out loud. “If it is indeed a joke, they will eventually put it back in the same place. I’m not worried.”
That he will return, the image, that is now certain. And there will be absolutely no damage whatsoever. In other words, the work of art will shine like it did on day one. “It’s unbelievable that they only noticed it now,” says Dejo. “The statues looked like they needed some restoration.”
There are six TT images in total. Three of them, in Rolde, Grolloo and Borger, are in the toyist studio in Zuidlaren to be thoroughly worked on. The statues in Hooghalen, Schoonloo and Assen are still in their original locations. These are also being restored, but this is done on location because they are still in reasonable condition.
The toyistic images that are part of the ‘Horsepower Mania’ collection are originally very colorful. The trademark of the toyists. The Zeitgeistcreated by two artists from Amsterdam and Breda, is in a prominent place on the Rolder Brink, but due to a number of surrounding trees the varnish and paint layer have become so weathered that on-site restoration offers no solution.
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