12 May 2007
Paris Hilton dead in new museum sculpture
The latest odd statue by artist Daniel Edwards features a naked and seemingly dead hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton undergoing an autopsy.
For a show warning teenagers about underage drinking, the Hilton statue clutches a cocktail glass in one hand and a cellphone in the other. Her distressed dog, Tinkerbell, jumps across her bare chest. She and the animal wear matching tiaras.
Daniel Edwards started making the work in polyester resin in January after the Hilton’s arrest.
The Paris Hilton Autopsy is a statement about the dangers of drunk driving just as high school prom season rolls around, according to Edwards. He also sculpted a giant head of Cuban President Fidel Castro and created a life-size nude of Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug.
Edwards said:
He’s using the jail-bound celebrity as a vehicle for a public-service announcement, to educate teens.
Hilton’s spokesman, Elliot Mintz, said he had no comment on the work.
A judge ordered Hilton last week — to report to a county jail by June 5 to serve a 45-day sentence for violating the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. Her lawyers have taken steps to appeal the sentence.
