Originally placed under a wall under a train overpass, the surfing Madonna depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe on a surfboard along with the message ‘Save our Ocean.’ Undercover artists, disguised as construction workers, placed the mosaic using a strong epoxy-like glue some time before Easter weekend in 2011.
Technically graffiti under the law, the art work has drawn a mass following and the city has hired an art agency to investigate how to remove her without doing damage to the 10-by-10-foot rock and glass mosaic. A Facebook page in support of the piece attracted over 1,000 fans. It was removed from the railroad underpass on June 23, 2011 and put in storage because it was unauthorized artwork.
In January 2012 the surfing Madonna has won the approval of a Southern California city to be placed at the entrance of a state park. However it will still require approval from two state agencies before it can be placed on public land that the city leases from the state.
