Gilded statue of nude Trump displayed in European Parliament
A satirical sculpture of U.S. President Donald Trump has been displayed in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. The American leader is depicted naked and covered in gold, sitting on the back of another person. The work was created by Danish artist Jens Galschiot.
The sculpture is called Orange Plague. The author also uses the name King of Injustice. The composition is about 2.6 meters high, made of copper and covered with 23-carat gold leaf.
Trump is shown sitting on the shoulders of a man bent under his weight. Next to him is a golf ball stylized as a globe, and the president holds a long club. Another element of the composition is a set of scales, which, according to the author, symbolize the power to determine what is considered justice.
The sculpture was installed in one of the busiest places of the European Parliament, connecting two parliamentary buildings. Since Monday the work had been under orange fabric, and on October 6 it was unveiled for MEPs, parliamentary staff, journalists and visitors. The exhibition is to remain in the building until Thursday.
The exhibition was organized by Danish MEP Per Clausen, representing a left-wing group. He invited Galschiot to show the work directly in the parliament building, despite its openly satirical nature.
"If someone is so easily offended that they cannot accept this sculpture being displayed in the European Parliament, then they have no business on the world stage," — said Clausen.
Small copies of the work and cards with text from the "king of injustice" were placed next to the statue. The text tells of a man who bends under the weight of a ruler sitting on his back, who promises to do everything for him except one thing — to get off his back.
According to Galschiot, the composition addresses not only Trump's personality, but also the broader theme of the use of political and economic power. The artist explains the image as a critique of a situation where the stronger side uses its advantage to pressure the weaker.
The author himself links the work to the U.S. administration's policy on the climate agenda and international order. Galschiot calls Trump one of the serious obstacles to fighting climate change and criticizes his influence on the rules-based international order. This position of the artist is embedded in the satirical composition.
One source of inspiration was Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes." In it, the ruler stands naked before his subjects, but those around him, out of fear and desire to please him, refuse to say the obvious. Galschiot uses this plot as the basis for depicting Trump as a self-proclaimed "king."
This is not the first public display of the work. Galschiot's organization has used this and related sculptures during political and climate actions, including in connection with UN climate conferences. Miniature versions of the composition are also distributed by artists as symbolic protest souvenirs.
The appearance of the sculpture in the European Parliament itself gives the action an official institutional backdrop, but the work does not represent the position of the European Parliament or the European Union — its exhibition is organized by an individual MEP.
At the time of the opening of the exhibition, Donald Trump had not publicly commented on his satirical statue in the European Parliament.
Source: Der Spiegel, Jens Galschiøt, ANSA
