Massive sculpture hauled to Muskoka cottage dock

A 900-kilogram sculpture, which stands more than four metres tall, has found a new home on a Muskoka cottage dock after the artwork's admirer became worried others were damaging it while it was on display in Toronto's Distillery District.

"I wanted to stand by it. I wanted to look at it from different angles," Andrew Cumming told CBC's Matt Galloway on Metro Morning, explaining the first time he saw the hunching man sculpture, known as Koilos, in Toronto.

Every time Cumming visited the Distillery District afterward, he would ensure he passed by Koilos, and his reaction was always the same.

But then he noticed piece was starting to show signs of wear and tear.

"It almost begs to be climbed on," he said, noting kids would scamper all over the sculpture.

Cumming went online and researched the artist, eventually contacting him to ask about the sculpture's status.

Michael Christian told him the Distillery District's lease for the piece would end in 2013, Cumming said. So the art enthusiast expressed his interest in purchasing the piece and moving it somewhere people could still enjoy Koilos but wouldn't damage it.

That's how the 900-kilogram sculpture ended up on his Muskoka cottage dock.

He rented a truck, hauled Koilos to cottage country and set it up on his waterfront property, where it has been standing since early May.

So far, the reaction from his neighbours has been mixed. But Cumming wanted the piece to spark interesting conversation.

"It's definitely a monster," he said. "But it's a monster in the sense of Monsters, Inc. maybe."