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A new statue of the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, has been unveiled in a field in Slovenia. The life-size bronze figure is found near the town of Sevnica, where Donald Trump’s wife grew up. It is a copy of an earlier wooden statue of the president’s wife, which was set on fire by strangers in July.
The bronze statue was commissioned by American artist Brad Downey. In an interview with the AFP news agency, he described his work as a “cartoon”. He is intended to criticize the restrictive immigration policy of the President of the United States by alluding to the fact that his own wife is an immigrant. Melania Trump had moved to New York, where she worked as a model and met Trump.
The statue is monochromatic and stands on a tree stump. The figure raises a hand in greeting. In contrast, Melania’s previous character wore a blue dress. However, the creator of the wooden figure, local chainsaw artist Ales Zupevc, praised the new statue as a “perfect copy.” During the inauguration, he climbed onto the tree stump with the figure to take a photo. Zupevc was commissioned by Downey in the spring of 2018 to view the life-size image of Trump on a linden tree outside.
The wooden artwork, which was completed in the summer of 2019, was the subject of much resentment and criticism in Slovenia, with the statue in the blue dress being referred to as the scarecrow on social media. Other critics saw in the work a representation of the Virgin Mary instead of the First Lady of the United States.
The destruction of the statue was well received in the initial reactions on social media. The work was “an embarrassment to the entire country” and “finally” someone was found to burn the statue, he said.
At the unveiling ceremony of the new statue, a “Melania’s cake” was served from a bakery in Sevnica. Several other products dedicated to the First Lady are available in the area, including Melania honey and Melania pines.
