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Neubauer Artists LLC
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The statue is on display in a busy passageway of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The satirical artwork has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Standing 2.6 meters tall, the sculpture depicts the president perched on the shoulders of a frail man. His prominent belly and thighs encircle his head, while his hands hold a golf club and the pans of a scale of justice.
Created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, the work is officially titled “The Orange Plague”. It is covered with a thin layer of 23-carat gold leaf.
“Trump likes gold. In a way, I think he would like this sculpture,” Jens Galschiøt told CNN after the unveiling of his work in Strasbourg.
On the statue’s base, one can read: “I am sitting on a man’s back. He is sinking under my weight. I will do everything in my power to help him. Except get off his back.”
For the Danish artist, the sculpture represents the threats that the American president would pose to the environment and the rules-based world order.
A criticism authorized by Parliament
The exhibition was sponsored by Danish MEP Per Clausen, a member of the left-wing party The Left. He stated that he wanted to spark a debate on American influence in Europe and how Europeans can defend their interests without depending on Washington.
However, the authorization of the exhibition does not mean that the European Parliament approves its content. The institution’s quaestors, responsible for administrative matters, determined that the exhibition complied with the applicable rules.
The artwork is expected to remain on display until Thursday.
More than 1000 small reproductions made by 3D printing are also distributed to visitors as “symbolic objects of protest”.
A reference to another work
Jens Galschiøt is particularly known for his “Pillar of Shame”, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.
The choice to depict Donald Trump naked is not insignificant. The Danish artist claims to have been inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” in which a vain sovereign parades naked before his subjects.
“Dictators don’t like being mocked,” he explained to CNN.
Trump has not yet publicly reacted to this new satirical depiction.
Jens Galschiøt plans to present “The Orange Plague” again at COP31, which is to be held in Antalya, Turkey, next month.
