Tülay Schakir’s €100,000 Sculpture Smashed at Lempäälä Housing Fair

Only months after its installation, parts of a large wooden sculpture were smashed in Saikanpuisto, the housing fair park in Lempäälä. The work, titled Rakastaa ei rakasta and created by artist Tülay Schakir, was erected in June. The municipality is now assessing the damage, YLE reported.

Municipal manager Noora Pajari, who first learned of the vandalism from a resident's social media post, called the act pointless and deeply upsetting for the local residents the artwork was intended for. She said the piece cost €100,000 and is still being finished. Officials will inspect the damage, meet the artist next week to discuss next steps, and then decide whether to file a criminal complaint.

The incident comes amid a wider wave of vandalism across Tampere this year that police say has included hundreds of vandalism crimes. It follows several attacks on public works in the Tampere region, including the partial removal of the €65,000 Tietäjälintu sculpture on Kuninkaankatu last spring and an attempted removal of the plaque from the Mannerheim statue in Leinola in June. Aamulehti first reported those Tampere cases.