Man Vandalises Statue By Pedophile Artist Eric Gill In Front Of BBC Office

Eric Gill: The incident of the man climbing up the statue in front of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) building and vandalising it comes shortly after the court in the United Kingdom cleared four people of the criminal charges. They had removed the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

The man has now been arrested and taken into custody by the police after he was helped down by the Fire Brigade of London.

Man Vandalises Statue By Paedophile Artist Eric Gill:

Another organisation that is known for improving the conditions of children around the world, Save The Children (STC), has said they will be dropping a font that was designed by sculptor Arthur Eric Rowton Gill. As per the organisation, they decided to take down the Gill Sans typeface last year itself. The design was created by the artist in 1928 and featured in the STC's logo.

On January 12, 2022, a man scaled the height of the front building of BBC and reached out to the statue in front of the building designed by Gill and vandalised it. The man used a hammer to chisel it out, while another man in the background live-streamed the incident and talked about the history of a paedophile artist. 

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The carving on the building was installed in 1933, shortly after the building was operational, and is situated at the entrance to BBC office on Regent Street, London.

It depicts semi-naked Ariel and Prospero from The Tempest( play by English playwright William Shakespeare). Gill was a famous sculptor, typeface designer associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 20th century. However, the diaries of Gill that were published later on revealed the sexual abuse of her teenage daughter. 

Gill's diaries also opened about the incestuous sex with her sisters and acts by him on his pet dog. The series was published in 1989 by Fiona MacCarthy in a biography. The eldest daughter of the artist, Petra, at the time of launch of the book told- she was unaware and just took it for granted and that her father had "endless curiosity about sex"

The issue has been taken up previously as well by many social activists and charities as well who criticised the BBC for encouraging the artwork of a known paedophile by keeping it in the building. The broadcasting channel has refused to take down the statue stating "Gill is one of the last century's major British artists whose work has been widely displayed in the leading United Kingdom museums and galleries". 

The UK Government has pledged to pass laws to protect existing statues in public places. As per the new legal protection meaning, the historic statue should be "retained and explained" for future generations. Individuals who want to remove any statue(listed/unlisted) needs to take permission from listed building or planning permission