Play store
A giant satirical statue depicting US President Donald Trump naked has gone on display inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, drawing attention from visitors and passers-by.
The 8.5-foot copper statue is covered in 23-carat gold leaf and was unveiled on Tuesday. Created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, the artwork is titled “The Orange Plague” and is also being referred to as “The King of Injustice.”
The sculpture shows Trump sitting on the shoulders of a smaller, apparently weaker man. His thighs and hanging belly press around the man’s head. Trump holds a long golf club in one hand and a set of scales representing justice in the other.
An inscription on the pedestal reads: “I am sitting on a man’s back. He is sinking under my weight. I will do everything to help him. Except get off his back.”
Galschiøt said the artwork is intended to symbolise what he sees as Trump’s stance on environmental issues and his threat to the international rules-based order. He said Trump is destroying almost everything he believes in.
The display does not represent an official position of the European Union. It was sponsored by Danish politician Per Clausen, a member of the Socialist People’s Party-affiliated Red-Green Alliance and the European Parliament’s left-wing group, The Left.
According to the European Parliament’s press service, the exhibition was approved by the Quaestors, a group of MEPs responsible for administrative matters. Under Parliament rules, an MEP may sponsor up to two cultural events or exhibitions in designated areas during a parliamentary term.
Galschiøt said he had initially feared the exhibition might not be approved. He described the approval as a form of silent consent from members of the European Parliament, while noting that many Americans and Europeans may find some of Trump’s behaviour difficult to take seriously.
The artist also drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” in which a vain emperor parades before his subjects without clothes. Galschiøt said authoritarian rulers generally do not appreciate being laughed at.
Known for political satire, Galschiøt previously created the “Pillar of Shame,” a memorial to victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The sculpture was removed from a Hong Kong university in 2021.
The exhibition is scheduled to remain on display until Thursday. More than 1,000 small 3D-printed versions of the statue are also being distributed to visitors as symbols of protest.
Clausen said the exhibition was intended to encourage discussion about who holds power in the world and how that power is used. He said Europe also needs to consider how to strengthen its own security and political capacity while reducing its dependence on the United States.
“The Orange Plague” has previously been displayed at events including the Munich Security Conference and a UN climate conference in Brazil. It is also planned to be exhibited at the UN climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, next month.
Galschiøt said the new Trump sculpture and his earlier works share a common theme: the relationship between those who hold power and those who do not.