7 statues that look nothing like their famous subjects - from Lewis Capaldi to Elvis Presley
Sometimes celebrity statues can go a bit wrong - although sometimes that's the whole point
On Sunday (21 May) Lewis Capaldi was presented with an unusual-looking bronze statue of himself from students at his former school.
The singer, 26, from Glasgow, smiled as he posed next to the statue which fourth year pupils and teachers spent six months making at St Kentigern’s Academy in Bathgate, West Lothian.
The artwork was created to mark the release of his fourth album ‘Broken by Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’.
Although much loved by the star, the statue was purposely built to follow James Corden’s concept when he made a statue of David Beckham as a prank.
With the new unusual reveal, here we take a look at other statues that are not exactly reminiscent of the people they allegedly resemble.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
The bust was unveiled at the Aeroporto da Madeira, or as it is now known, the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, on 29 March 2017 and was met with immediate surprise and ridicule. It was designed by sculptor Emanuel Santos who created a second statue after being commissioned by sports website Bleacher Report - but this too was a bust (pardon the pun) as art critic Eddy Frankel dubbed it an “ecstatic mess”.
2. Oscar Wilde
In 1998, outdoor sculpture A Conversation with Oscar Wilde was created by artist Maggi Hambling and sits in central London. It was the first public monument to Wilde outside Ireland, his home country. Although it looks as if some form of Wilde is melting in granite, the statue is actually a bench and a tribute to the famous writer. However, at the time Charles Spencer, chief drama critic of The Telegraph, wrote about the statue that “hideous is too gentle a word to describe it… the representation of Wilde is loathsome”.
3. Kurt Cobain
Randi Hubbard began creating the crying Kurt Cobain statue in 1994, just after the singer’s death, and she was helped by local art students. She initially offered it to the town of Aberdeen, in Washington State, but the city refused it. Eventually, 20 years later in 2014, the town was ready to accept it and it was officially unveiled on what would have been Cobain’s 47th birthday. The statue has been likened to Jesus rather than the Nirvana frontman.
4. Elvis Presley
Located in Neve Ilan, Israel, next to a diner beside a gas station sits a cafe containing over 700 pieces of Elvis memorabilia. Outside is the world’s largest Elvis Statue at five metres tall. However, rather than sporting his signature flares, Presley seems to be wearing skinny jeans and what seems to be a t-shirt with a collar.