A statue
Melania Trump was removed from near his hometown in
Slovenia after being burned down by vandals.
Statue, near Sevnica, central Slovenia, was set on fire on July 5, Slovenian police were confirmed to CNN on Thursday.
Brad Downey, the artist who commissioned the work, told CNN Thursday that he received a call from the local police asking him what to do with the statue, which was made in July 2019 as part of an ongoing project that included a short documentary.
The statue was released on July 5, and Downey said he asked locals not to share photos of the charred figure so it would not be a “cruel meme.”
Downey has filed a police report but said he was only interested in finding the attackers, not pressing accusations against them.
The burning statue is now in storage. Credit: JURE MAKOVEC / AFP / Getty Images
“I want to know who did it,” he told CNN. “Someone does not like what they represent or how they look,” said Downey, who believes that the time of the attack – on the weekend of US Independence Day – means it is not a random “drunken act”.
Slovenian police told CNN in a statement that they considered the case as “property damage which is a criminal offense.”
Downey has since posted a video of the deleted statue on his Instagram account.
Downey had previously told CNN that he was inspired to create works because of what he called “anti-immigration narratives” coming out of the US and from Donald Trump in particular.
He said it was a “contradiction” that the US President, who made immigration cessation the cornerstone of his presidency, married an immigrant whose first language was not English.
Downey commissioned a local conceptual artist named Ales Zupevc, better known as Maxi, who was born in the same hospital and the same year as the first lady, to carve a statue from a tree using a chainsaw.
Although media reports say the statue has shared public opinion, local residents like the project and have taken care of the statue and the surrounding area, Downey said.
“They only support,” he said. “They are very proud of this.”
Melania Trump gets a tree statue in Slovenia
Downey told CNN he was working on an artistic response to the attack, as well as a video about the media’s response to the statue.
“I might try to do something at that location,” he said, adding that the original “very burning” statue was now kept.
Downey also released a book – “Slapstick Formalism” – last month and is preparing for a new exhibition in Slovenia in September.
Sevnica is a city of 5,000 that has benefited from its most famous daughter, places herself strongly on the tourist track and sells various Melania-themed products including honey, chocolate and cakes.
This article has been updated to correct the date the statue was damaged.
