Giant heroin spoon left outside Massachusetts Statehouse in protest
BOSTON — A giant heroin spoon sculpture that was placed outside a drugmaker’s Connecticut headquarters last summer to protest the opioid overdose crisis is now in Boston.
The nearly 11-foot-long (3-meter-long), 4-foot-high (1-meter-high) steel sculpture of a burned heroin spoon was briefly placed in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse steps Friday by Westwood-based sculptor Domenic Esposito and Connecticut gallery owner Fernando Alvarez.
But unlike June’s stunt when the 800-pound (363 kilograms) spoon was placed outside Purdue Pharma’s Stamford, Connecticut, headquarters as a protest, Esposito and Alvarez say the spoon was brought to Boston as a “gift” for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Esposito, whose brother has struggled with addiction, says Healey has been a strong advocate for people affected by the opioid crisis.
Purdue Pharma has denied allegations its marketing of the painkiller OxyContin contributed to the crisis.
