A newly unveiled public sculpture which cost \u00a340,000 has attracted criticism over the way one of the characters is depicted.<\/p>\n
The artwork, called The Meeting Point, was installed in the Penenden Heath History Garden and shows three figures – a Royalist Cavalier, a Victorian cricketer and a female healer.<\/p>\n
\u00a340k The Meeting Point statue in Penenden Heath, Maidstone, faces criticism from healing community<\/p>\n
The council says the sculpture celebrates community, shared space and local heritage.<\/p>\n
It cost about \u00a340,000 to commission and install.<\/p>\n
The healer figure is intended to acknowledge women who were persecuted under witchcraft laws in the 16th century and earlier this year, councillors wrote to the government asking for a general pardon for those executed.<\/p>\n
However, the statue shows a woman wearing a pointed hat with a cat at her feet and some have raised concerns about the way the healer is represented.<\/p>\n
Cllr Claudine Russell has criticised the new sculpture<\/p>\n
Cllr Claudine Russell (Con) said: \u201cI thought that the administration\u2019s point was that these ladies weren\u2019t witches, and that the request for pardoning them translates to modern-day issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy group are therefore confused as to why the statue depicts two men and one woman, and the woman is crafted wearing a pointy hat with a cat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s quite apart from how much this statue cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this really the most important infrastructure that our residents want to be delivered for them? My group doesn\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members of the Coven of the Sacred Oak, a group which studies historical herbalism and folk practice, also voiced concerns.<\/p>\n
Healers of the Coven of the Sacred Oak, who have raised concerns about the sculpture\u2019s design<\/p>\n
They said: \u201cWe would have liked to see the names of the people who were wrongly accused placed alongside the sculpture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been better to show several men and women in ordinary clothing to reflect who they really were.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people were herbalists, midwives and healers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understood plants and the natural world. Knowledge was feared, and that fear led to persecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to be remembered for the crimes they did not commit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pointed hat is not historically accurate. Wise men and women wore wide-brimmed hats to keep herbs dry when selling remedies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were human, not fictional characters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council says the sculpture is part of a community project shaped by workshops held earlier in the year.<\/p>\n
It said the figures stand on a Civil War drum with historic dates linked to the heath inscribed on the base.<\/p>\n
It is made from mild steel and galvanised to guard against weathering.<\/p>\n
Artists Thomas and Gary Thrussell created the piece. Their work also includes the Iguanodon sculpture at Maidstone East railway station and installations on the Magical Beasts trail.<\/p>\n
Cllr Stephen Thompson (Green), cabinet member for healthier, stronger communities, said the work represents unity, reflection and collaboration over time.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Maidstone council said: \u201cThe Meeting Point sculpture was commissioned as part of a wider cultural initiative to enhance public spaces and celebrate themes of connection, care, and community wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe healer figure was created to symbolise compassion and support, with elements such as the cat representing comfort and companionship. It was never intended to promote stereotypes or cause offence.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt is subjective, and we recognise that people will have different views.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the overall response has been very positive, with many supportive comments and over 400 likes on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that investment in art and culture plays an important role in creating vibrant, welcoming environments for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project was funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy, contributions from local developers to support community projects, not through council tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the work was commissioned, a public consultation was held, and the concept received an overwhelmingly positive response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe value all feedback and will ensure these views are considered in future projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal remains to deliver inclusive and meaningful works that reflect the diversity and spirit of Maidstone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A newly unveiled public sculpture which cost \u00a340,000 has attracted criticism over the way one of the characters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,192,191,1318,649,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-252676","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-human-interest","14":"tag-kent","15":"tag-maidstone","16":"tag-quirky","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}