The vandalism, properly to a box which encased the installation rather than the installation itself, will now cost the city government money to repair, hence the involvement of the PPA, Sakala reports (link in Estonian).

That the monument, to Jaak Joala (1950-2014), is hidden away at all relates to an injunction placed by Joala's widow forbidding its public display or the use of his likeness. The installation seems to have been ill-fated, already attracting criticism on aesthetic grounds when it was unveiled at the end of last year.

The city government says restoring the wooden structure encasing the monument will cost about €300, after the fact, since it was already purchased and fitted on the Saturday, once the damage had been spotted.

The vandalism took place around 5.00 a.m. on the Saturday, while a city maintenance department told Sakala that the vandals must have had a ladder and the correct tools to carry out, as well as the requisite amount of energy and determination given the three chipboard panels removed, from up to 4.5 meters above the ground, had been firmly bolted in place.

In summer, one of the panels had been unscrewed, hence the more rigorous reconstruction of the wooden structure the second time around, while CCTV footage from that earlier incident showed two men unscrewing a panel while another two helped them – the CCTV footage this time around is being handed over to the PPA for their investigation.

The original Sakala article is here.

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