A mysterious humanoid sculpture placed on a waning wooden wharf along Australia's Sydney Harbor finally succumbed to the shallow waters of Berrys Bay, after the splintered and rotting structure it was on broke down.
Regarding its demise, the sculptor Gary Deirmendjian wrote in an Instagram post: "Poetry writes itself at times."
"The fate of 'Lone Man' and the world he sat on. There on Sunday seen in person and by Monday morning both were no more, gone with the sudden collapse of the well-weathered wharf."
First Sighting of Gary Deirmendjian's Sculpture
According to a report by the Aussie publication ABC News, locals of the area first sighted the chalky sculpture of a man in deep thought, above Berrys Bay waters, last November. This coincides with another post in the artist's Instagram that included a photo of "Lone Man."
In an interview with the publication's radio broadcast, Deirmendjian said that the statue's last moments in "exhibition" were very fitting, saying, "That's where he wanted to go, then that's where he should stay."
Genia McCaffery, North Sydney Council's former mayor, recalled the collapse's details. She said she was in the middle of a walk around the area, alongside her friends, when she suddenly heard a loud and "enormous" crash as the rickety wharf caved in.
She added that the sound was akin to a "big cracking timber," which prompted them to look at the aftermath, especially the "sad part" of the statue amongst the wreckage.
Eventually, the witnesses reported the incident to the local Maritime officials, who then brought boats and clean-up equipment to tidy up the wreckage.
A spokesperson for the NSW Maritime shared that the operation took place alongside "storm recovery work resulting from recent weather events."
They added that an "initial navigational assessment" will also be conducted in the coming days to see if there are "navigational risks" that are still left unchecked around the area of the incidents.
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The 'Lone Man,' A New Home for Barnacles
To convey a sense of "being alone," outside of actually being "lonely," Deirmendjian deliberately positioned the statue with its back facing the metro across the Sydney Harbour.
Locals even became fond of the sculpture, endearingly dubbing it "Gunny." This name was particularly attributed to a grandchild of one of McCaffery's companions.
As for the material that made up "Gunny," the sculptor said that it was created using cardboard as the foundation which was then wrapped up in aluminum foil before it was covered in plaster and resin-coated hessian, thus making it "sturdy but light."
Deirmendjian expects the statue to last quite a while in its new underwater spot, predicting that "a lot of bio-growth" will take place on it "very quickly."
He also explained that it was he and his pupils from the National Art School who had taken "Gunny" to the now-defunct wharf by boat, installing it last November. Initially, he thought it wouldn't last a few days let alone months.
"A few days was a win as far as I was concerned," said the artist.
