Statuette Patrick Sercu damaged by vandals
The statue was broken and the city services found it next to the pedestal.
“Artwork is being restored”
“The statue was pulled from the pedestal, but fortunately we were able to recover it,” says Alderman for Culture Kurt Himpe (N-VA). “The intention is of course to put the work of art back on the pedestal as quickly as possible. Luckily it wasn’t stolen.”
The statue had only been there for six months. “In March, not only was a street name dedicated to the cycling legend, on the corner of Dirk Martenslaan and Patrick Sercudreef there was also a large photo and a work of art by Willy Peeters and later also a large poem by the city poet dedicated to the racing event” , says Alderman Kurt Himpe.
Not the first time
It is not the first time that images have been stolen in Izegem. This already happened at the swimming pool, in the Marktstraat and at the Bosmolens.
“Works of art have previously been stolen from the street scene,” says Alderman Kurt Himpe. “In 2007, the statues of the Olympic champions Filip Bardoelen and Ulla Werbrouck at the entrance to the Izegem swimming pool were suddenly gone and in 2011 the birds from the artwork De Ontmoeting at the church on the Bosmolens disappeared. A Bulgarian was later caught with pieces of the artwork near a scrap iron trade. In 2019, the statue of De Pekker on the corner of Gentsestraat and Marktstraat disappeared.”