Two of Wellington's small pigeon statues have taken wing. Photo: Supplied by Jonathan Campbell
Art lovers are all aflutter after two bronze pigeon statues were pilfered from the streets of Wellington.
Sculptor Jonathan Campbell created the pigeons in 2022 as part of a WellingtonNZ campaign to celebrate the city's business community.
Each of the 10 sculptures was different - one was sitting on a pile of coins, one was flying with a paper bag of takeaways, and one was eating a bronze pizza.
But recently, two had flown the coop, he told Nights host Emile Donovan - and he suspected students were to blame.
Pigeons pilfered in Wellington
"I don't think some middle-aged person would have taken them because you'd probably get told off by your friends," he said.
"A dumb straight-out theft would be a bit boring - what would you do with it? I would put money on it being students."
Campbell said his feathers were not ruffled by the turn of events and he enjoyed the thought of the pigeons sitting in a student flat.
A member of the public had created an impromptu artwork by placing candles and flowers around the spot where one of the birds was last seen, which was a striking memorial.
The pigeons were all different - this one sits on a pile of coins. Photo: Supplied/Instagram
"I find that's probably more interesting than what I had sitting there before.
"People will be stopping to look at that ... they probably think it's some quite morbid, serious event taking place but it's the loss of a bronze bird."
Campbell said melting down the pigeons would not provide the thieves with any sort of nest egg, as no one would get rich from that small amount of bronze.
"The value of what I do is the time and effort that goes into making them, not the material itself - not at that scale, anyway."
One of the pigeons in the foundry before being installed in Wellington. Photo: Supplied/Instagram
It was not the first time his poultry had been pinched. Earlier, another pigeon was stolen, but found again shortly after going missing.
"He was bolted to a really heavy table, so I think they gave up and dropped him at the top of some steps somewhere."
Campbell suspected the thieves in that situation had had a few drinks before trying to carry away the table.
The pigeons were never meant as permanent fixtures and were only intended to be on the streets for a couple of years, he said.