A wall-length silkscreen print went missing in downtown Chilliwack this week and the artist desperately wants it back.
The series of colourful prints by artist Jonathan Hodges was on display as part of the inaugural Art Under the Umbrella festival held in Central Community Park all day Saturday.
On Tuesday when Hodges returned to Chilliwack to pick up his artwork, he noticed one of the panels had been stolen.
The project, A Sign From Above, took more than a year to create. The prints had been on loan to festival organizers for a few days, taped to rear exterior of the old Home Hardware building.
The colourful panel that went missing, depicting a hand with a raised middle finger, is believed to have been taken down overnight Monday. It measured about two metres by four metres.
Hodges, an artist from Iowa who just graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, told The Progress he just wanted the artwork back, no questions asked.
"The very best outcome for me is that my print will be returned," he said. "I don't care about who or why, I just want it back."
They knew it was a risk to leave the work up after the festival, but they decided to trust that would not be touched.
"I was shocked," Hodges said. "I put a lot of faith in humanity and trust the public that this display was up for.
"I was really let down because of that, and to know that my hard work, time, money, and artwork had been stolen from me overnight is heartbreaking."
The silkscreen was printed on synthetic Yupo paper and was scheduled to be part of an upcoming exhibit in Michigan in September.
Contact Hodges at yeahyeahartstuff@live.com, or drop off at Harvest Cafe on Mill Street.