A FORMER landmark that was rescued for renovations by one local artist is now missing.

The landmark is a statue of a lobster, designed by Stephen Burrows, that had marked one of New Providence’s intersections, years ago. Toby Smith began renovating the sculpture with the hope of giving it back to the government for use. The lobster disappeared, this weekend, and Mr Smith fears it might have been misplaced.

The lobster, as well as a few other landmarks, were being renovated by Mr Smith in an effort to restore some of the country’s most recognisable art works.

The restoration efforts were made public earlier this year in The Big T, and other sculptures include Stephen Burrows’ well-known “Pigeon” sculpture as well as a sculpture of a conch shell.

It began with a project that 11-year-old Bianca Smith, the daughter of Mr Smith, had to do for class. The project had to be about a sculpture or a sculptor so Mr Smith suggested to his daughter, the works of Stephen Burrows.

Her research soon revealed that although many Bahamians are familiar with his work and indeed drive past his iconic steel sculptures on a daily basis, they may be unfamiliar with the name.

Mr Burrows did several steel sculptures seen in Nassau, Exuma, San Salvador and Abaco, Bianca explained.

“His sculptures include: Flamingo (1980); Lobster (1981); Rooster (1983); Rat Bat (1984) – which was commissioned by Bacardi – White Crown Pigeon (1985); the Parrot (1991), and the Pompey (2009). He also created the Trident Trumpet and the Dragon which were never completed,” she said.

“We were able to go to his house and I interviewed him and we found out that the conch shell and pigeon had been dumped in the back of the Ministry of Works, and they were just there and no one was doing anything with them which I thought was a shame.”

Mr Smith told The Big T: “I thought that this was the perfect opportunity for Bianca to learn more about culture and preservation and the need to make a difference in the world, and so we wrote to the Minister of Works, asking if it would be okay to move them and refurbish them. He was very gracious and gave us permission and then we were able to get some sponsors on board to help us.”

The missing lobster is one of the sculptures Mr Smith was restoring.