The ''David Bowie Statue'' is a bronze sculpture of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

sculpted by Andrew Sinclair and unveiled in 2018 in Market Square,

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

, Buckinghamshire by Howard Jones.

Statue

The statue was unveiled in 2018 in Aylesbury where Bowie debuted his Ziggy Stardust character. Entitled "Earthly Messenger", it is situated in Market Square. It features a likeness of Bowie from 2002 and a selection of his alter egos down the years, with Ziggy at the front. Speakers mounted above the life-size piece play a Bowie song every hour. Money to create the work was raised through grants and a £100,000

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

appeal by music promoter David Stopps.

Critical reception

The statue received mixed reviews. Online art magazine ''Artlyst'' described it as "hideous", poorly rendered and not fitting a man (Bowie) who loved

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

. Rob Stringer, CEO of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, described the statue as “beautiful”.

Vandalism

Less than 48 hours after the statue was unveiled, it was

vandalised Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

. "Feed the homeless first" was written in front of it, "RIP DB" on a wall beside it and a section of the statue was painted on. In October 2018, it was vandalised for a second time with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

sprayed onto the statue, some pavements, doors and hoardings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowie, David 2018 sculptures Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom Statues of musicians

Statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Statue of David Bowie The ''David Bowie Statue'' is a bronze sculpture of David Bowie sculpted by Andrew Sinclair and unveiled in 2018 in Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire by Howard Jones. Statue The statue was unveiled in 2018 in Aylesbury where Bowie debu ...

Statues in England Bronze sculptures in England