Maldives police use pickaxes to destroy works of art deemed un-Islamic: NPR

It took nine months to British artist Jason deCaires Taylor to develop his latest work: a 20-foot-tall stainless steel cube adorned with life-size human statues and semi-submerged in a coral lagoon off the islands Maldives.

But it took a few hours for the Maldivian police to destroy it.

Acting on a court order, the police used pickaxes to smash the statues on Friday. Muslim politicians, including the outgoing president of the Maldives, ruled the work non-Islamic because it represented human figures.

The local police tweeted photos men using electric saws, ropes and axes to dislodge statues.

"I've been extremely shocked and sorry to learn that my sculptures have been destroyed," wrote Caires Taylor on Instagram.

He called it "a sad day for the art and a sad day for the environment".

Famous for its palm lined atolls and its international tourists wearing bikini, the Maldives is a predominantly Muslim island of less than half a million inhabitants of the Indian Ocean. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has increased its investments in the country by financing mosques and spreading a more orthodox and austere version of Islam.

Muslims generally avoid the representation of human forms in the art. The holy book of Islam, the Koran, does not explicitly forbid them, but it condemns idolatry.

The police reportedly sent a Maldivian local newspaper photos and videos of the destruction, including a clip in which we hear a man say "Allah Akbar" or God is awesome.

The installation of DeCaires Taylor, called The Sculpture Coralarium, began in July on a Maldivian atoll where a Fairmont resort is located, which would cost up to $ 3,800 per night.

The artwork immediately prompted criticism from Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who was running for reelection. He lost Sunday in the polls a member of the opposition and said he would resign.

In late July, Yameen issued a statement asking the country's tourism ministry to "facilitate" the removal of the sculpture because of "significant public opinion against the facility".

The artwork is located about 500 feet off the coast. It is 20 feet high, half under water, with a staircase leading to the top of the cube, which is minutely cut to present silhouettes of coral motifs. Sculptures of human forms were above the cube and under the water.

To get there, tourists can go diving, go diving or swim.

Local media reports that 30 statues have been removed and cite the complex as saying that "the process of removal was peaceful and friendly". He said that the structure of the cube remained intact.

"We initiated immediate re-imagining plans with the artist, creating a new underwater gallery that will be in harmony with the locals and the environment," said the resort.

Like many underwater sculptures by deCaires, it was made from non-polluting materials and designed to attract marine life – algae, crustaceans and fish – and to raise awareness of the fragility of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. -of the.