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New Melania Trump statue in Slovenia gets mixed reviews
A tongue-in-cheek statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared on the outskirts of her Slovenian hometown.
US artist Brad Downey hired a local chainsaw artisan, Ales Zupevc, to carve the likeness out of a tree trunk outside the town of Sevnica.
The result was a wooden rendering of Mrs Trump dressed in a blue coat with a club-like hand gesturing to the sky.
Some residents described it as “a disgrace”, a “Smurfette”, saying “it doesn’t look anything like Melania”.
Downey told Reuters news agency he wanted to “have a dialogue” with the US political situation.
The artist has an exhibition in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana until late August. The gallery reportedly suggested the statue “might only be a slapstick prank” in a leaflet.
Downey’s previous works include Wisdom Testicles and Cactus Hand.
Sevnica has become a tourist magnet ever since Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, and Ms Trump – a famous former resident – became the first lady.
. Here's What You Should Know About Melania Trump's Official First Lady Portrait. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. "[O]n Monday[,] . . . the White House released [Melania Trump's] first official portrait, which was taken by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux."Laurent, Olivier (4 April 2017). The Story Behind Melania Trump's Official Portrait. Time. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. - whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-melania-trump (page) (archived)whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/images/flotus.png (direct link) (archived)whitehouse.gov/copyright (license) (archived), CC BY 3.0 us, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57696382){kind=link}
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