Purple stains on a marble installation in front of the Chiayi County Government building were caused by the secretions of lac insects and not vandalism, the county’s Agriculture Department said on Thursday.
Created by artist Huang Hui-hsiung (黃輝雄), the statue, titled Love, was one of eight romantically themed installations commissioned by the Chiayi County Culture and Tourism Bureau last year — a project costing NT$11.98 million (US$391,375).
Huang’s work shows two intertwined poles symbolizing yin and yang, and the unbreakable bonds of love.
Photo: Lin Yi-hua, Taipei Times
Last month, local residents noticed blood-like stains on the statue, sparking concern that it might have been vandalized.
However, Love was the only one out of the eight installations to show signs of discoloration, and experts from the Agriculture Department began to suspect natural causes.
Falling fruit was ruled out as a possible cause, as there were no fruit trees bearing that color nearby, department officials said.
The depth of the stain’s color changed from time to time, and its surface area expanded over weeks, they said.
After examining the stain more closely, a reddish-purple latex was recovered near the art piece, which lab tests revealed to be the product of lac insects, whose secretion are used for manufacturing lacquer, they said.
Lac insects were found to feed on the sap of the tree standing over the statue and the resin they secreted must have dissolved in rainwater and dripped on the statue, leaving stains, the officials said.
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