Party-goer who damaged Olafur Eliasson artwork worth $333,000 granted name suppression

Auckland Art Gallery would not reveal the value of the artwork. Photo / Getty Images

By Louise Ternouth of RNZ

A woman who damaged an artwork at Auckland Art Gallery last month has been granted interim name suppression.

Guests at The Curious Ball in early March were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson.

One of the guests was charged with wilful damage after allegedly headbutting a hanging sculpture during the evening.

According to the art gallery’s website, the event was tipped as an “unforgettable night of art, dance, music and culinary delights”, with performances from contemporary dance groups, a soprano singer and DJ. Canapés and cocktails were served throughout the night.

About 200 people attended, with VIP tickets costing $300 and general admission was $200. Notable New Zealanders at the event included fashion designer Karen Walker and model/actor Colin Mathura-Jeffree.

The highlight of the event was exclusive after-hours access to Eliasson’s exhibition, which was a mix of installations, sculptures and photographs. His work had been on display at the gallery since early last December, the first time his work had been exhibited in Aotearoa.

The damaged piece of artwork is titled Firefly biosphere (falling magma star) - a large hanging coloured sphere of glass, stainless steel and aluminium with a motor and lights inside that hung from the ceiling at head height.

Auckland Art Gallery would not reveal the value of the artwork but in a police summary of facts obtained by the Herald it was valued at $333,000.

According to the summary, the guest had consumed alcohol before and during the event.

At 9.45pm she walked into a large open room which had the Firefly biosphere art piece and approached the artwork. Police say she stopped just before it, stepped back on one foot and then intentionally lurched forward headbutting the glass sphere and breaking a piece of the glasswork.

The woman stated she was slightly intoxicated and meant her actions to be a joke in front of her friends. She acknowledged her actions were reckless but said that she had not intended to break the artwork.

It has been taken down and fixed at a cost of $3440 which the defendant has been ordered to pay.

The cost to repair the sculpture was initially covered by Auckland Art Gallery’s insurance with no excess payment.

In a written statement to Checkpoint Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said the gallery expressed sincere regret to the artist’s studio and owner following the incident.

He stressed the gallery does not allow food or drinks in exhibition spaces specifically to help protect artworks.

“When alcohol is available at an event, it is served responsibly, away from artworks.

“Staff are located in and outside exhibition spaces to monitor artworks and prevent visitors from walking into the exhibition with food or alcohol.”

The art gallery has reviewed the event and incident to see if anything could have been done differently.

-RNZ