By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER landmark rescued for renovations by a local artist has reportedly been sold as scrap metal and shipped off the island, a well-placed source confirmed.

The landmark is a statue of a Bahamian Spiny 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. It was housed on BTVI property for more than a decade, but this past weekend, he reported the lobster had disappeared.

A source told The Tribune, the school hired someone to clean up derelict cars on the property and the statue was somehow also removed and sent to a local recycling facility.

That recycling facility has since sold the lobster as scrap metal, the source says, but has given a cheque to BTVI. The source added the school was reportedly unaware the lobster had been taken for scrap metal along with the cars.

Having stood at the foot of the Paradise Island Bridge for many years, Mr Smith said, the lobster was a “Bahamian icon.”

It and several other statues 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.”