This is why we can’t have nice strings.

An installation of neon yarn by artist duo Toki in a vacant building near the Rhode Island Metro station was destroyed just a few days before it was slated to come down.

Washingtonian reports that the kinetic patterns of strings, which took Toki members Toluwalase Rufai and Khai Grubbs 18 hours to install, were cut down this weekend without the artists’ knowledge. They had planned to take down the piece, the second in Toki’s three-part “Synth Series,” this Wednesday.

Rufai and Grubbs did not have permission to use the building, and photos from the destroyed installation showing neat piles of yarn suggest a systematic removal rather than chaotic vandalism. The building is owned by Douglas Development Corporation, whose marketing manager says she “[doesn’t] know anything about [the installation],” and property manager Patrick Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Arts Desk will update this post as we learn more.