Greek sculptor sacrifices his own piece over fine

Yorgo Kirbaki - ATHENS

A Greek sculptor has chosen to hammer down his own sculpture rather than pay a fine for “destroying a natural structure” issued by a local municipality.

The sculptor, Dionisios Karipidis, responded to an ultimatum by the Sitonia Municipality and broke into pieces his famous “Mermaid” sculpture, which he had carved on a rock on the Kavurotripes shore in 1997.

A few years ago, the Sitonia Municipality had fined Karipidis 533 euros on the grounds his 6.6-meter-long sculpture “destroyed a natural structure.”

After Karipidis lost a lawsuit over the sculpture, the municipality sent him an ultimatum to demolish the piece which read, “Either pay the fine, or we will demolish the sculpture.”

However, Karipidis responded he would rather demolish the piece himself than pay the fine.

“Either I will not pay 533 euros or I will demolish my piece,” he said in a letter.

Recently Karipidis kept his word, and hammered his piece down in front of the eyes of locals and tourists.