Melania Trump's life-size wooden statue in Slovenia triggers complaints and derision: 'The real Melania is more wooden'
FLOTUS Melania Trump has just been honored in Slovenia with her first statue in her home country. However, locals are gravely disappointed with the artwork.
According to ITV, the life-sized wooden carving was created by Ales Zupevc, a local craftsman who specializes in chainsaw sculpture, after being commissioned by American artist Brad Downey.
The statue is seen to be waving its left hand and is dressed in the same color Lady Trump wore during her husband's inauguration as US president in January 2017, Daily Mail reports.
The artwork was officially unveiled on Friday near Melania's hometown of Sevnica.
However, residents in the area voiced their disapproval of the statue, calling it a "disgrace" and complaining that it looked more like a "Smurfette" than the First Lady.
While locals are proud to belong to the same town Melania hails from, they were shocked to discover the statue did not look anything like the first lady, ITV reported.
"It doesn't look anything like Melania. It's a Smurfette," said one nearby resident, recalling the small, blue, human-resembling character from the popular comic book The Smurfs.
"It's not okay. It's a disgrace. That's what I have to say," another local told ITV.
In the meantime, social media users had a gala time discussing the sculpture's intended likeness.
"The first public statue of Melania Trump in Slovenia will be officially unveiled on Friday. I'm sure she'll be pleased," tweeted one user.
"The real Melania is more wooden," another user quipped.
The outlet further reported that Zupevc was given only one requirement while creating the statue — the dress had to be the same color as Melania's signature coat during the 2017 inauguration ceremony.
The statue was featured on a poster for Downey's first solo exhibition in Slovenia, titled This Echo, referencing the nymph from Greek mythology.
"The topic arose as a reflection and an echo of the obvious question Downey asked himself after visiting Slovenia for the first time," read a poster for the exhibition. "How deep are the first lady of the US's roots and how do local people live with and react to this indisputable historical fact?"
However, this is not the first time there have been plans to honor the former supermodel with a life-size sculpture.
In 2017, there was a proposal for a statue of Melania to be placed in nearby countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, per Newsweek.