Since its inauguration 15 years ago it has been the subject of all kinds of ridicule and vandalism.
Now the much-maligned sculpture of a fisherman in the Galloway town of Annan is likely to melt to a degree that has angered its creator.
The £40,000 monument, built to honor the men who waded into the Solway Firth to fish with hand nets, was erected in 2009.
Commissioned by Tesco to mark the opening of its new supermarket, it depicts a netter, an ancient type of salmon and sea trout fisherman once common in the Solway Firth.
It is now at risk of being melted down after the Annan Community Council voted in favor of its removal and scrapping.
But Paul Cowan, who created the work in bronze and stainless steel, said Sunday weather: ‘The statue does not belong to the community council, it belongs to the people of the town.
‘It’s not theirs and they can’t decide what to do with it. They claim to act in the best interests of the city, but all they care about is trying to get MBE medals.
“They’re a bunch of old farts and meddlesome busybodies…and you can quote me on that.”
The statue as it looked when it was placed outside the city’s Tesco.
Paul Cowan defended his work, saying it belongs to locals and should not be discarded.
It was originally placed on a roundabout in the city but, after being inaugurated in 2009, it instantly became the focus of ridicule.
The 61-year-old sculptor said: “All the jokes go back to the night before it opened.
‘We wrapped it and the sculpted salmon stuck out around the figure’s waist height.
‘People snickered and suggested he seemed excited.
“I didn’t care and I thought it was funny.”
Demands to remove the sculpture soon increased. Then, in 2018, he was beheaded.
Pranksters soon took advantage of the headless statue. He sported numerous heads, including a disturbing rubber parrot mask and a traffic cone.
The beheading led to a police investigation, but it was soon dropped.
In 2020, the Annan Community Council took possession of the headless haaf netter, but this did not end the problems for the artwork.
It was moved from its original location to a new one overlooking the Solway Firth and the community council reportedly paid £350 to move it.
But vandals continued to target the artwork and earlier this year removed the metal net and attached the salmon to the headless fisherman.
The community council told the newspaper that the removal was a “unanimous decision” and added: “It’s sad that it has come to this.” The funds will be used to benefit the community. Tesco didn’t want it and the council didn’t want it either.
Mr Cowan said: “The point of art is to provoke strong opinions, whether people love it or hate it.”