In a town of South Africaa situation occurred that left perplexed to residents: the mannequin disappeared Beverlya work of art which was placed in a pool of water and was considered a symbol of the place.
The event happened in Nieu-Bethesdaa town in the province of Eastern Capelocated in the south of the African country.
«Our beloved mannequin Beverly disappeared. During the weekend, was stolen from the agricultural pond located on the path that leads to Stone Folk (NdR: another work of art). We hope to bring the mannequin back home safely.«, wrote on November 9, the town’s tourism office via a message on Instagram.
In addition, the entity clarified that Beverly is not only an inanimate figure in human form, but a work of art of utmost importance.
The Beverly mannequin was placed in a town water tank as an artistic expression. Photo: Nieu-Bethesda Tourism/@nieubethesdatourism.«Beverly It’s not just any mannequin. It’s a quirky and much-loved part of our small town’s charm.. It is also an art installation by Ryno Greeff, who also created Stone Folk of Ongeluksloot,» the tourist office stated on the social network.
«It’s a real mystery»
For his part, local artist and sculptor Ryno Greeff, creator of Beverly, told the local press that The disappearance is a «real» mystery.
«It’s a real tragedy, I must say. She (referring to the female-looking mannequin) made life happy to so many people and so many travelers. We don’t know if it was malicious.; We don’t know if it was someone making a joke. We have no ideawe don’t receive any ransom note, we don’t know anything. It’s a real mystery. There is something certain: We all miss Beverly«, declared the man at the news portal Eyewitness News.
Stone Folk or Unhappylot, orabr the art del pueblo. Photo: Nice-Bethesda Tourism/@niubethesdaurism.Despite not being certain about the incident, Greeff assumes that several people were involved in the disappearance of the mannequin due to the weight of the base on which he was leaning.
«I hope it appears somewhere else. Maybe it was (NdR: the perpetrators of the incident) a group of people, because it is impossible that one person could lift and move it. It was on a very heavy support; The mannequin itself is light, but the concrete support that I built was very heavy,» the artist told the same medium.
The origin of Beverly
On the other hand, with respect to origin of the work of artGreeff stated that initially it was a playful installation. With the passage of time, became an icon the New Bethesda.
«On a trip to Port Elizabeth (NdR: a city in South Africa), I found a mannequin in a thrift store. Think: ‘Ok, this is Beverly, she will be the one‘. I brought her to my studio, dressed her, made a support for her so she wouldn’t fall into the reservoir (…) and placed her there about two years ago. Since then, He became a familiar figure in the area«said the sculptor.
On the other hand, Greeff believes that they will place another mannequin in case the original does not appear. “Now there is so much history around the pond that we will probably end up putting another mannequin there, but there is only one beverly«, he reflected in dialogue with Eyewitness News.
