Sculpture of Vladimir Putin pops up in New York's Central Park to denounce 'the absurdity of war'

A recently-installed sculpture of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Central Park, New York City, portrays the autocrat of Moscow as a stubborn manchild playing war games. Pictures shared by French street James Colomina, show children playing by the red sculpture and poking fun at the poster boy of 21st century military aggression.
​Children use toy guns to spray water at Vladimir Putin's statue installed in Central Park, New York | Picture courtesy: Instagram/@jamescolomina​

Children use toy guns to spray water at Vladimir Putin's statue installed in Central Park, New York | Picture courtesy: Instagram/@jamescolomina

Photo : Twitter
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Colomina took credit for the installation in Manhattan.
  • A similar sculpture previously popped up in Barcelona.
  • "This sculpture aims at denouncing the absurdity of war," the artist said.
Putin statue
New York, United States: The president of Russia became a subject of ridicule and contempt among children in the US when a sculpture of Vladimir Putin appeared at a playground in Central Park, New York City.
The blood-red Putin statue, which depicts him sitting on a miniature tank, was erected in NYC by French artist James Colomina.
“🩸Vladimir🩸 This sculpture aims at denouncing the absurdity of war and at highlighting children's courage when faced with violent, catastrophic situations triggered by others,” Colomina explained the symbolism of the installation in an Instagram post Thursday.
Pictures show children covering the Putin sculpture with sand, pretending to point a (water) gun at his face and curiously observing the red figure.
A similar sculpture of “bloody Putin on the tank” previously appeared in Barcelona, Spain when the street artist set it up in Parque de Joan Miró in July and an identical statue before that came up in Paris’ Luxembourg Garden.
The installation comes more than five months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In its trail of destruction, Russia has inflicted a mass exodus as at least 12 million people fled Ukraine, killed nearly 100 soldiers everyday and destabilised the current world order.
Colomina’s artwork is unmistakably recognisable in the glossy red sculptures that are often secretly installed in public places.
Earlier this year, an evocative piece of shock art by the Toulouse-based artist, called “Le petit migrant” toured some of the most iconic locations in Paris — including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and Arc de Triomphe.
“It is a body, that of a 6-year-old child, lying down and covered with a sheet, as if he were dead, with an origami boat on his stomach,” he told Actu Toulouse. “I wanted to create a visual shock by installing it in emblematic places, where there was a contrast between the work, which symbolises a migrant in the greatest destitution, and the abundance of our society. It made passers-by uncomfortable, but that was the point.”
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