WOW Air Sculpture Torn Down By High Winds

Yesterday’s gale force winds in Reykjavík claimed one victim, and with uncanny timing: a sculpture owned by WOW Air CEO Skúli Mogensen.

Vísir reports that the sculpture in question, Obtusa, was created by artist Rafael Barrios but is owned by Skúli, and was loaned to the City of Reykjavík in 2013.

Hafþór Yngvason, the former director of the Reykjavík Art Museum, told Vísir that Skúli had covered the cost of setting up the sculpture at Höfðatorg, and that it was insured by the city. The decision to do so was not without its critics, however; Torfi Hjartarson, a representative for the Left-Greens on the city’s planning committee, objected at the time on the grounds that he felt it was inappropriate to set up a work of art owned by a private individual in a prominent, public space.

After the sculpture was felled yesterday, it was removed from its location by the Environmental and Planning Committee for the City of Reykjavík. Ólöf K. Sigurðardóttir, the current director of the Reykjavík Art Museum, told reporters that the work itself was not damaged; only the base attaching it to the ground.

The city will take care of the sculpture for the time being, until it has been fully repaired. When and if it will be raised again at the location remains to be seen.