Bali`s Giant Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue Unaffected by Earthquake
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Kamis, 1 Januari 1970 07:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sculptor Nyoman Nuarta confirmed that the 121 meter-high Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) statue that had just been completed in Bali is in pristine condition following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Lombok on Sunday, August 5.
“The statue was designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake,” said Nyoman Nuarta on Wednesday, August 8.
According to Nuarta, he had already anticipated potential earthquakes that could strike the region, especially the quake that can be sparked by the quake zone from Bali up to Lombok and further up to its Eastern regions.
Just hours after the quake hit, Nuarta traveled to the GWK statue to monitor his workers’ safety and several cranes that were being gradually dismantled from the statue.
The construction of the GWK statue had run for a lengthy 28 years made from pieces of panels that were produced from Nyoman Nuarta’s workshop in Bandung.
The separate panels were transferred by 300 trucks from Bandung to Bali, each piece of slabs weighed roughly around three-tons each and was constructed with the help of cranes.
There are 754 modules in total that makes up the entire Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue that is a representation of the God Wisnu riding on a legendary Garuda eagle. Nyoman Nuarta’s work is orbited to be Bali’s latest landmark or icon.
ANWAR SISWADI
