Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Controversial River Ness public artwork vandalised days after being opened

The artwork at River Ness opened to the public on October 7.

A controversial piece of art at the riverside in Inverness has become the victim of vandalism – just days after it first opened to the public.

A graffiti inscription has been painted over the walls of the curved, stone-built pier at River Ness, which opened to residents in the north on October 7.

The Gathering Place and its design, as well as its predecessor – a £300,000 giant see-saw-like installation, have been a target of criticism since plans were first lodged in 2016.

Although the artwork was introduced as a place “for people to meet up and enjoy some normality”, residents opposed the design amid concerns it would spoil the riverside.

And just a few days after people first gained access to the new feature, police were informed of a spray painted writing that has appeared on the installation.

Police appeal for information launched

Officers have now launched an investigation into the “mindless act of vandalism”, which is believed to have taken place at the weekend.

Police constable Derek Ferguson said: “This is a mindless act of vandalism on an artwork that has only recently been installed and this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Image of vandalism writing on new River Ness public artwork.
The writing is believed to have been painted over the weekend. Image by Police Scotland.

“We would like to speak to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious.”

Anyone who can provide further information to assist with their inquiries is urged to get in touch with police on 101, quoting reference number NN/5836/21.