Sarah, a four-metre-long velociraptor made entirely of driftwood, overlooks the beach at Campbell River’s Willow Point.
But a few days ago vandals damaged the sculpture.
“Most of her teeth were knocked out. Her head was torn off of her body, both arms were ripped off and yeah the whole thing was just a mess,” explained Alex Witcombe who created Sarah about one and a half years ago.
Witcombe is an Island-based artist who creates “coast-inspired” sculptures and the person behind Drifted Creations.
He turned a hobby of making driftwood art into a fulltime occupation and has made other incredible pieces of life-sized driftwood creations including a Volkswagen Beetle and an eight-foot-tall Sasquatch that stands at Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park on Quadra Island.
“I always get amazing reactions, particularly from kids,” said Witcombe.
Witcombe’s had work stolen before and while it looks like someone has tried to put Sarah back together for him, this is the first time someone has gone out of their way to destroy one of his creations.
“The damage was so severe that in my mind it was just to take it apart, take all the screws out, and return her wooden bones to the ocean,” said Witcombe.
Fortunately, there is some good news for Witcombe. When he announced that Sarah had been destroyed, his followers urged him to rebuild and so he created GoFundMe page. Less than eight hours into the campaign, he already raised $1,479, exceeding his goal of $1,000.
“People put their hearts into this kind of thing and everybody is here to enjoy it and when someone comes along to wreck it, it ruins it for everyone,” said Jennifer Klatt who was beachcombing near the sculpture Tuesday.
Witcombe, meanwhile, says he’ll use the extra money to create more public art for people to enjoy.
Dean Stoltz
