Damien Hirst’s Verity statue arrives in Ilfracombe

“needs a polish!”

“I notice that the papers have been very careful not to show her dissected side, as a mother of 2 I'm glad my kids are older now, any younger and I really do believe that this would have frightened them. http://tinyurl.com/8h4xyvo”

“Well, Verity has finally arrived. Love it or hate it only time will tell. But has anyone thought for a moment that this piece of artwork will be the biggest draw for every nutcase in devon. Graffiti, people carving their initials all over it. And the best of all, how far up the statute can you climb?. Unles you put a 24 hour security watch on your statue, it will be in the sea by Christmas...........paulbam”

“I agree with BarnstapleMan; this WILL make the harbour area a real centre of attention for Ilfracombe. In a time of significant economic paucity, and with little or no investment coming from local or national government, it is great to see something dramatic, different and memorable happening in Ilfracombe. Whether or not one "enjoys" Hirst's art, or Verity in particular, surely the installation in Ilfracombe and its attending publicity must be a good thing. Tourists may not flock in their thousands from all over the world to specifically see Verity, but if it increases footfall through the town by just "encouraging" tourists already in north Devon to come and see the statue, surely that must be a good thing for the town, and the wider area? Like him or not, like his statue or not, Hirst (and the council) has probably created more free publicity for the town than we could have ever generated by ourselves.”

“Hopefully it'll start to attract new tourists outside the normal demographic that Ilfracombe normally attracts! She looks fab and it's going to make the harbour a real centre of attention, about time something in Ilfracombe did!”

“Guarding the Harbour from what ? Tourists ?”

“Looks brilliant! Can't wait to see her guarding the harbour!”