A gold statue depicting US president Donald Trump naked has been unveiled at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, with Danish artist Jens Galschiøt naming the eight-foot installation ‘The Orange Plague’.The sculpture, covered in 23-karat gold leaf, shows Trump holding a golf club and a world-shaped ball in one hand and a set of scales in the other, according to The Independent.The statue portrays Trump standing on the shoulders of a much smaller man and is labelled “The King of Injustice”. A satirical pledge inscribed on its base reads, “I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back.”Galschiøt, who is known for his politically charged sculptures, described the work as a “satirical outcry” against what The Independent described as the volatility of Trump’s green and foreign policies.In a statement, the artist said, “Trump represents one of the greatest threats to the rule-based world order, democratic values, and our common effort to solving the climate crisis.”“We must address this issue and stand together against such destructive influence,” he added.The Danish artist also took to X on Wednesday to share a photograph showing miniature versions of the sculpture. “I’m still in Strassbourg where I will be handing out 10,000 versions of the Orange Plague,” Galschiøt wrote.The installation has been backed by Danish member of the European Parliament Per Clausen, who said, “If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture being exhibited in the European Parliament, then they have no place on the world stage.”The latest sculpture is a reworking of Galschiøt’s earlier work Survival of the Fattest, which depicts a starving boy carrying an overweight woman as a metaphor for global inequality.According to CNN, members of the European Parliament can host displays on parliament grounds, subject to official approval. Rules prohibit exhibitions deemed “offensive or of an inflammatory nature” or those that “undermine the dignity of Parliament.”The Trump sculpture is scheduled to remain in Strasbourg through Thursday. According to The Independent, it is expected to appear again in November at the UN COP31 climate conference in Turkey, where Galschiøt plans to distribute 3D-printed miniature replicas to delegates.
