Figures stolen and replace with caricatures
In the Strzelce district, an unknown person has stolen statues of saints from two roadside shrines and replaced them with strange caricatures. Police are investigating.
The thief targeted crosses and roadside chapels. In the village of Bokowe, Jemielnica, he stole a statue of St Anne that the locals had looked after for about 100 years. He replaced it with a caricature of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns and his hands bound with a thick chain. The unusual 'work' looks like a pastiche - the figure has bulging eyes and an open mouth, giving it a comic book style. The locals are outraged. It is a desecration - says Klaudia Kraka, the mayor of Łaziska, who reported the matter to the police at the residents' request.
On the same day, a similar act of vandalism was reported by the residents of Rozmierz, near Strzelce Opolskie. A thief broke the glass of a roadside cross and stole the image of the Virgin Mary that was inside. The thief replaced it with a caricature of Jesus with his hands tied with a rope. As in Bokow, this figure has a similar grimace on its face - bulging eyes and an open mouth. It is also covered in drops of blood. The vandal was so brazen that he arrived at the scene with a measured piece of Plexiglas, which he used to replace the broken window, and silicone - says Róża Willim, the mayor of the village of Rozmierz. "We have reported the matter to the police. We hope that the culprit will be found and we will get our painting back," he said.
Analysis of the photos of the replaced statues shows that they are not mass-produced sculptures. Someone must have gone to a lot of trouble to prepare them and then paint them.
Source and Picture: nto.pl