University of Houston Police Department Releases Video of Public Art Vandalization

The University of Houston Police Department (UHPD) has released surveillance footage of the vandalization of a controversial public art sculpture by Shahzia Sikander. Watch the full video below.

Shahzia Sikander, “Witness.” Photo: University of Houston staff

Around 3:00 a.m. on Monday, July 8, as winds and storms resulting from Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area, an unknown assailant climbed the 18-foot sculpture, Witness, and beheaded the female figure at the apex of the work. Prior to the opening of the temporary public art installation by Ms. Sikander, the sculpture came under scrutiny by Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion nonprofit organization. The group launched an online petition calling for the removal of the work and planned a protest.

The sculpture, which was a joint commission between Public Art University of Houston System (Public Art UHS) and Madison Square Park Conservancy, was originally on view in Madison Square Park in New York. Though Ms. Sikander has explained that the piece speaks to the history of women and people of color being underrepresented in public works and is about women and justice, Texas Right to Life claims that the sculpture includes “satanic imagery” and “honor[s] child sacrifice.”

Shahzia Sikander, “Havah…to breathe, air, life.” Photo: Madison Square Park Conservancy

Since March, when Public Art UHS completed Ms. Sikander’s exhibition by installing the video work Reckoning and updated its FAQ document incorporating suggestions from the National Coalition Against Censorship, there has not been any further public incident until last week. Days after the vandalization of Witness, Ms. Sikander requested that the university leave the sculpture without repairs. 

On Friday, July 12, via her Instagram account, Ms. Sikander publicly called for UH to remove a tarp that it had covering the damaged sculpture. She stated, “The tarp concealing the misogynistic attack of beading the sculpture Witness, should be removed. It is with disappointment that I am writing this. I hold the University of Houston accountable for their inadequate response and failure to respect the wishes of the artist.”

UHPD’s recently released video footage is from two angles. A color video shows a side view of the sculpture with the top portion obscured by a tree. It reveals a person climbing the skirt structure of Witness and disappearing behind the tree leaves for about two minutes before the head of the sculpture falls to the ground. The person then descends the sculpture and runs off frame. A black and white video from a further distance away and a higher perspective is more difficult to make out as it is distorted by wind and weather, but captures the same act.