The artist insisted that the pieces not be boxed up or roped off, which may have worked well in a dedicated arts venue, but in a mixed heritage site/local museum/visitor attraction it just attracted the wrong kind of attention.
People not only touched the vellum, but often tried to pick it up "for a closer look", and upon finding it pinned down, would pull it (wince) or in once case carefully remove each individual pin. It seems that even trying to nail something down won't stop some people... As the area wasn't permanently staffed (one staff member covering three rooms) the damage was often only discovered afterwards.