Sculpture of Shahzia Sikander decapitated at the University of Houston

A statue of Shahzia Sikander at the University of Houston was vandalized following previous protests by far-right groups.

The 18-foot-tall bronze monument dedicated to women and justice was decapitated early in the morning of July 8 as the campus endured severe weather and power outages due to Hurricane Beryl.

Footage of the vandalism was obtained by campus police, according to the New York Timeswho was the first to report the news.

“We were disappointed to learn that the statue was damaged early Monday morning as Hurricane Beryl hit Houston,” Kevin Quinn, the university’s executive director of media relations, said in an email to ARTnews. “The damage is believed to be intentional. The University of Houston Police Department is currently investigating the matter.”

The female figure, whose braided hair forms a pair of horns, wears a lace collar in allusion to similar ones worn by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former Supreme Court justice.

The sculpture was installed in a plaza at the University of Houston after a five-month display in New York’s Madison Square Park, where it received critical acclaim. But when it was exhibited in Houston, it drew criticism from the Christian anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, which called for a campus-wide protest “to keep the satanic idol of abortion out of Texas.” The University of Houston responded by canceling a planned opening and artist talk, and choosing not to show an accompanying video work also by Sikander.

It is worth noting that the artist’s statement on the work contains no mention of Satanism. “Ram horns are universal symbols of strength and wisdom,” Sikander said. Art in America earlier this year. “There is nothing satanic about them.”

“Calls to remove this proud symbol of female autonomy have unwittingly underscored why Sikander created it in the first place,” Eleanor Heartney wrote in this profile of Sikander.

Sikander described the vandalism of Witness as “a very violent act of hatred” and told the New York Times that this should be investigated as if it were a crime.

In addition to his exhibitions in museums around the world, Sikander has been awarded a MacArthur Genius Fellowship. A retrospective of his work is being held as a side event at this year’s Venice Biennale.

Quinn said ARTnews that conservators were called in to advise on the repairs needed Witness, and that the university had been in contact with Sikander to repair the artwork “as quickly as possible.”

But Sikander has other plans. “I don’t want to ‘fix’ or cover up,” Sikander told New York Times“I want to ‘expose’, leave something damaged. Create a new piece, and many other things.”

Sikander did not respond to a request for comment from ARTnews.