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There’s an empty corner on Somerset Street at Upper Lorne Place where a pair of cheerful yellow deer statues used to stand, two members of the fleet of cartoon characters brought in this year to decorate Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
The deer were knocked over in a brazen and thoughtless act of vandalism that was captured in surveillance video and posted to social media by the Chinatown BIA, along with a note expressing disappointment.
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“Last night, three individuals callously vandalized Chinatown’s property and casually walked away,” the post read, noting that a police report had been filed. “It’s disheartening when a few thoughtless actions tarnish the experience for everyone.”
The video, time-stamped at 10:25 p.m. on Oct. 8, showed three young men passing by. One, in a red hoodie, strong-armed the first statue, knocking it over, while another, in a black jacket and jeans, stepped over the first statue and kicked the second statue, knocking it over, too, before catching up with his friends.
The statues, intended to serve as selfie stations, are made of fibreglass and imported from China at a cost of $200,000. Funding assistance came from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the Chinatown BIA said.
The BIA installed eight selfie stations along Somerset Street to welcome visitors to Chinatown. They went up in March, bolted to concrete pads, but by July all had been either stolen or vandalized. Some were snapped off at the base, others were splattered with paint, and several disappeared completely. A dinosaur and a trio of panda bears are missing.
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In reacting to the latest vandalism video, Instagram users expressed frustration.
“The Chinatown community has been putting in so much work to add art and amenities to this great historic part of our city,” wrote a user named amyinretrograde. “This isn’t corporate art, this is real community art. Really frustrates me to see this.”
Another Instagrammer user, gerriepoulet, recognized the effort it took to create a sense of community. “Our Chinatown is so cool and so many people work so hard to provide food, services, and activities to the community, and in a few minutes, some people wreck it. It’s maddening.”
With files from Blair Crawford
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