Naked, gilded Trump statue goes on display at EU Parliament

A gilded statue of US President Donald Trump naked went on display in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Danish artist Jens Galschiot is exhibiting the satirical statue, titled Orange Plague and also known as King of Injustice, at the parliament’s headquarters in the eastern French city.

It shows the president sitting naked on the shoulders of a much smaller man. In his hand, he holds a long golf club. Including its pedestal, the statue is around 2.5 metres tall and, according to the artist, is coated with 23-carat gold.

An orange cloth covering it was removed when it was unveiled on Tuesday. The statue stands at one of the parliament’s busiest intersections connecting two buildings. It is scheduled to remain on display through Thursday.

The artist was invited by Danish left-wing member of the European Parliament Per Clausen. “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,” Clausen said.

Business cards placed beside the sculpture quote the King of Injustice as saying: “I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under the burden. I would do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back”.

Galschiot describes Trump as one of the greatest obstacles to solving climate change.

Galschiot is also the creator of the Pillar of Shame, an eight-metre-tall sculpture commemorating victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The artwork previously stood at the University of Hong Kong for more than two decades, and the artist has been trying to secure its return.