A British artist has created sculptures of Donald Trump and displayed them across New York City, including at Trump Tower, amid the US election.
London-born Alison Jackson created the realistic silicone sculpture of the former president in an open shirt and underwear standing between the spread legs of a silicone woman wearing a US flag.
Ms Jackson said people have been laughing at, taking photographs of and shouting at the sculpture as it was taken around New York City in the week leading up to the vote.
She told the PA news agency: “I’m very interested in what’s real and what’s not, what’s real and what’s fake and I think Donald Trump personifies half-real, half-fake, so I’m particularly interested in him, and what he represents.”
Ms Jackson explores the theme of celebrity culture in her work and is known for using lookalikes of public figures, including members of the royal family, to create photographs showing a glimpse into their imagined private lives.
She said: “My work is all about how we think we know celebrities intimately, and actually, very few of us have had a chance to meet them.”
Explaining her Trump sculpture, Ms Jackson said: “We’ve all heard him talk about ‘grab ‘em by the pussy’. He loves women in a certain context, and so on and so forth. He was a playboy in his younger days. He doesn’t exactly come across as pro-women, does he?
“I just wondered what people think about him on the street so I put this sculpture on the street, and to hear what they have to say and their reactions to this sculpture is incredibly interesting.
“What’s interesting is, on the streets, people want a selfie and I’ve never heard people laugh so much, which is extraordinary, particularly at this high point of tension at the moment.
“People are laughing at it because it sits in the middle of what he represents or seems to represent, so it’s provocative, it’s shocking, it’s outrageous, and all the things really that Donald Trump represents.”
She believes that the sculpture can help people reflect on their vote.
“It makes people think about what they’re voting for, I suppose, for the next four years, and they can look at it on either side and definitely confirm their vote and whether they will be aligned on either side,” Ms Jackson said.
Ms Jackson has been particularly inspired by Trump and has used a lookalike to act out various scenarios in photographs, such as arm wrestling with a lookalike of opponent Kamala Harris.
Over the weekend, the Trump sculpture was removed from outside Trump Tower by police and the woman’s foot fell off in the process, although it has since been repaired.
Ms Jackson said: “I think the policeman didn’t want to be seen holding the Donald Trump sculpture, so he pushed it over. He was taller than the sculpture, and he pushed it over on the ground. Luckily, it didn’t break.
“He ordered his assistant policeman to pick up the woman, and they dragged it along the road and tried to put it into their police van, but it didn’t fit.”
Eventually “we negotiated taking it away”, said the artist, who was disappointed that Mr Trump did not see the sculpture.
She said: “Of course they’re not going to want a sculpture sitting on Donald Trump’s doorstep but I thought he might want to see it.
“I thought he might actually like it. He might actually think that’s a good representation of himself.”
