Welp, it happened. Someone tried to give the cursed Fitzroy Banana sculpture the old banéné split, just hours after its ripe debut.
According to Victorian Police, the newly erected 6ft phallic-looking ‘Fallen Fruit‘ statue on the corner of Rose and Brunswick streets was attacked on Thursday night. Per a police report, the attempted decapitation occurred between 9pm Thursday and 6am Friday.
Police have released an image and CCTV footage of the man as he attempted to give the sculpture an artist’s impression of a homemade circumcision. In the video, the man can be seen holding a hacksaw that’s wedged into the banana statue while he moves it side to side.
Wow, someone really woke up and chose violence this week, huh? On the bright side, at least he was seen wearing a mask. Yay?
Police are currently on the lookout for the man responsible, who is “perceived to be Caucasian in appearance, in his mid-to-late 20s, about 175cm tall and has short black hair.
“He was wearing a black jacket, black pants, and blue face mask,” they said via a media release published yesterday.
Victorian Police are encouraging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
According to the Herald Sun, the project’s creator Adam Stone said he was “pretty shock[ed]” to hear about the attempted brutal peeling incident.
“I’ve had to come to terms with it this morning,” he said via the Herald Sun.
“Someone tried to decapitate the banana.”
A spokesperson for the Yarra Council also told the outlet that Stone plans to repair the Fallen Fruit in the coming days before fixing it properly “off-site” at a later date. The council is also cooperating with Victoria Police to find the man responsible for the attempted artistic sabotage.
In case you missed it, the City of Yarra unveiled the new $20,000 art installation in Fitzroy on Thursday to mixed reception.
